preen
Example Sentences
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He doesn’t peacock, he doesn’t preen; he is visibly angry with himself when he doesn’t produce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
These days, pastel and fluorescent birds groom, preen and bicker in enclosures behind the home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
Maybe it’s happiest tucked into a cast-iron skillet, going golden and jammy while the showier types preen in their baskets.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025
It might be a bank holiday in the UK, but for the designers, publicists and PAs, it'll be an extraordinarily busy day as they preen and prepare their stars to walk the grand staircase.
From BBC ● May 4, 2025
But this wasn’t the time to gloat or preen, or even to relax.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Lomakin occasionally overdoes Lieutenant Kelly’s wide-eyed bungling, but Carpenter preens suitably in Confederate uniform.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2023
He smiles and dances and points and preens, turning each field-goal attempt into a telenovela.
From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2021
Robotnik preens, seethes, and contorts his face to spit out condescending sarcasm with all the psychology of a Saturday morning cartoon baddie.
From Slate ● Feb. 14, 2020
A background performer in a hat draped with ivy sways to disco music while another in gold chain flaps preens in his fringed jacket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2019
“Methinks she preens her feathers just for me,” Guildenstern boasted.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
He preened, he hugged, he shook hands and hobnobbed with legends and politicians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2024
Jeudy pranced and preened in a squabble with Smith, the former Panthers star receiver and current NFL Network analyst, prior to the Broncos’ 19-8 loss at Kansas City last week.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
So if you happen to raise an orphan like we did with Alfie, that desire to be preened is very relatable.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023
The performances viewers see are not mimed to a studio recording that was made in advance and preened to perfection with editing.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2021
The emotion of years of unfulfilled longing preened in their voices.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
The author also has a keen eye—and little patience—for preening coaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Reviewing the musical before it transferred to Broadway, our critic praised it as “an exuberant parade of song, dance, preening and posing that revitalizes Mr. Lloyd Webber’s enduring score with wit, invention and roof-rattling energy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
As in most of the director’s movies, the characters behave like preening betta fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
And there’s the leering, preening Rupert Mannion from “Ted Lasso” — multimillionaire soccer team owner, inveterate philanderer and incurably vindictive divorcé.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
No questions, no interviews—but there was certainly a lot of preening.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Vocabulary lists containing preen
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