device

noun

di-ˈvīs How to pronounce device (audio)
Definition of devicenext
1
as in scheme
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end used every device and stratagem he knew to prevent his son's marriage

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2
as in tool
an article intended for use in work the salesclerk tried to sell me a new device for grooming cats

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in genius
devices plural a habitual attraction to some activity or thing left to her own devices she'd eat at a fast-food restaurant every night of the week

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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 device The agents seized records and electronic devices, looking for evidence of unspecified criminal behavior. — Barton Gellman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026 The materials described an eventual wearable device for humans that would take three years and $70 million to develop. — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026 Now, the high school reunion lives in the device in our hands, capable of giving anyone quantitative signals from a vast reference group at any moment on our personalized scoreboards of social approval. — Ashwini Nadkarni, Time, 24 Oct. 2026 That could be the use of a duress password, one too many failed unlock attempts, or simply every time the device is restarted. — New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for device
Recent Examples of Synonyms for device
  1. scheme
  2. tool
  3. genius
  4. ruse
  5. instrument
  6. talent
  7. trick
  8. faculty
Noun
  • Democrats, meanwhile, called the dividend proposal a vote-buying scheme.
    — Chad de Guzman, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Disney actor Erik von Detten is being sued for allegedly scamming an elderly couple in a bizarre precious-metals scheme.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of scheme
Noun
  • Better monitoring tools can help farmers identify disease threats earlier and avoid expensive eradication campaigns.
    — Robert Kelly, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • While federal scientists have created a national model to assess the likelihood of post-fire debris flows, communities don’t have an easily accessible tool to gauge their risk of post-fire flooding.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of tool
Noun
  • Newcomer Mia Tharia’s Josie is a sickly genius who’s invariably kind to Klara and precociously self-aware in the vein of YA teen heroes everywhere.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
  • With stars, form, and strategic geniuses on both sides, today's face-off is promising to be a game for the ages.
    — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of genius
Noun
  • What about when Carole was hiding in the closet to try to overhear Luann calling her a pedophile, and Jules Wainstein kept trying to ruin her ruse?
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Last-ditch plan for prosecution Authorities next developed what Smallwood described as a last-ditch plan to prosecute Tanzer — a ruse that could catch him lying about the rape.
    — Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruse
Noun
  • Ne-Yo followed suit and honed his tenor like a lithe instrument.
    — Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The Pentagon report notes that the object's speed was estimated by witnesses rather than measured by instruments.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of instrument
Noun
  • Koenig died Monday at his home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, talent agent Zachery McGinnis said in a statement.
    — JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Maybe talents like Misiorowski and Caminero and Chourio only come around once every couple decades.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of talent
Noun
  • Today, our constructor has reached into his evidently limitless bag of tricks to pull out a doozy of a Thursday grid.
    — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The subtle, but unmistakable, undercurrent of apple sweetness struck me as a bit of a magic trick in a bread that, otherwise, to the eye and hand was just a soft white loaf.
    — Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of trick
Noun
  • None of this excuses Chris’ malicious behavior, not just toward Carrie but toward her future stepsister, Brooklyn (Rowan Danielle), and the school as a whole, mostly via a fake Instagram account devoted to smearing students and faculty alike.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Filling a limited version of the host role is Alison Wood Brooks, a behavioral scientist on the faculty of Harvard Business School.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of faculty

Browse Nearby Words

deviations
device
devices
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Cite this Entry

“Device.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/device. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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