preen

One could preen virtuously after trundling to a local boutique instead of ordering from a faraway online behemoth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Updates shared on social media show them eating regularly, growing stronger and starting to move their wings and preen their feathers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 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

"You going somewhere, or just wearing a hole in that carpet while you preen?"

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Sometimes his comic instincts do pay off, as when Thor, Jane and friends crash a neo-Olympian, Vegas-ready paradise called Omnipotence City, where Crowe’s Zeus preens, prances and speaks in a hilariously awful Greek accent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2022

Travis is the kind of guy who gets excited by having enemies: “You know you’re on your way up when they slap a target on your back,” he preens.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2022

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 few blocks away preens Bergdorf Goodman, the beautiful princess whose holding company, Neiman Marcus, muscled recently into the Hudson Yards, like a watchful mother-in-law moving into the guest cottage.

From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2019

“Methinks she preens her feathers just for me,” Guildenstern boasted.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

He preened, grabbed his oversized scissors and opened his mouth to boast, but no one could hear a single word over the deafening roar of Marine One’s idling engines.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

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

With a singular presence and a deeply personal cadence, he preened and strode, quipped, opined, demanded and screamed into many, many telephones.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2022

Some guests — who preened in eye-popping colors, aggressive patterns, velvet slippers and stiletto heels — were art-struck.

From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2022

The emotion of years of unfulfilled longing preened in their voices.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

I understand that preening and politicking is way more fun and ego-enhancing than the minutiae of government in Sacramento.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

As in most of the director’s movies, the characters behave like preening betta fish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

At 41 years old, Ronaldo represents a living, breathing, preening conundrum for his national team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

When they film themselves preening on their phones, with the images projected onto the giant mirrors, Claire and Solange use filters that turn their sallow, pinched faces into plump-lipped, high-cheekboned ones that suggest Kim Kardashian.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Sally was stroking her hair, preening like a peacock.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine