BARRICADES Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

barricades 1 of 2

noun

plural of barricade

as in barriers

a physical object that blocks the way the police put up barricades to block off the parade route

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

barricades

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of barricade

as in guards

to disallow entry into (a place) by means of a physical barrier at the entry point the city barricaded the flooded streets to through traffic

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of barricades

Noun

Officials also closed barricades at site entrances to incoming traffic. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026 Before long, the barricades lay tossed aside and the tents within went up in smoke, along with Vucic's power. — Jovana Gec, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026 Officials urged motorists not to drive around barricades or through water of unknown depth. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 In Italy, a march in central Milan on Saturday over living costs also ended violently, with rioters attacking the police with stones and paving blocks and setting fire to barricades. — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026 Officers in riot gear clashed with youths who set up street barricades using burning trash bins. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Low-lying roadways are likely to be flooded, requiring barricades. — Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2026 Public Works is preparing for 24-hour operations, monitoring low-water crossings, dams, roadways, debris and traffic signals while staging barricades for potential road closures. — Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 30 Sep. 2026 There are plenty of barricades built with the explicit goal of keeping certain types of artists from access ing those rooms. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2026

Verb

The vigilante gets to Tappen and barricades the two of them in a hospital room, where a vicious brawl ensues. — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026 To keep her family at bay, Alexandra barricades herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to blow up the whole block. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026 Masahiro Motoki — the Oscar-winning star of Departures — plays a lord who rebels against warlord Oda Nobunaga and barricades himself inside Arioka Castle, only to face a string of unsolved murders within its walls. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for barricades

Noun

Yet when a safety issue arises, competitive barriers come down.

— Dennis Speigel, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
As with many maturing technologies, experts say wellness devices have become cheaper and easier to produce, lowering the barriers to entry.

— Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of barriers

Verb

Along with Adebayo, guards Pelle Larsson (illness) and Dru Smith (right calf strain) weren’t available for the Heat on Wednesday.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
The router comes with Advanced Router Protection, which guards your router, and a 30-day trial for Netgear Armor Security.

— George Yang, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of guards

Noun

Meanwhile, North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, tactical roads, anti-tank walls and other fortifications to what's already one of the world's most heavily armed borders.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Police said surveillance video showed one of the shooters chase down and fire at one of the victims, then both suspects were seen climbing privacy fences along Lockridge Avenue, according to court documents.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of fences

Noun

Meanwhile, North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, tactical roads, anti-tank walls and other fortifications to what's already one of the world's most heavily armed borders.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
From Mojave Ghost to Bal D’Afrique, its scents line the fragrance walls of the industry’s most fabulous faces, practically fly off retailers’s virtual shelves, and admittedly, help set the standard of what an indie brand could be.

— Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of walls

Browse Nearby Words

barricaded

barricades

barricading

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Barricades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barricades. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of barricades

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

reticent

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes