DISPATCHES Synonyms: 215 Similar and Opposite Words

dispatches 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of dispatch

as in sends

to cause to go or be taken from one place to another dispatched a messenger with urgent news

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as in kills

to deprive of life the exterminator dispatched the termites with professional efficiency

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in murders

to put to death deliberately during his reign of terror the dictator dispatched thousands without the slightest qualm

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as in defeats

to achieve a victory over they dispatched the other team without breaking a sweat

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dispatches

2 of 2

noun

plural of dispatch

as in letters

a message on paper from one person or group to another a soldier sending daily dispatches to friends and family back home

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as in messages

a piece of conveyed information a dispatch from headquarters regarding a change in battle plans

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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 dispatches

Verb

Even though the department no longer dispatches officers to the scenes of minor accidents, LAPD statistics show that enforcement the department’s 308-member traffic bureau has gone up. — Hailey Wang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 The officer immediately dispatches that shots had been fired. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026 While Skokie has taken the co-responder approach, Evanston dispatches a civilian-only force to respond to certain calls. — Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026 Instead, calls to the county’s Department of Mental Health help line, which dispatches the mobile response teams, increased by 31% during that same time period. — Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 11 Aug. 2026 One night, a cockroach breaches his citadel, and Pratt swiftly dispatches it. — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026 Stand Up Placer officials said the organization’s Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team, which dispatches advocates to hospitals and crime scenes alongside law enforcement, responded to 856 callouts, up from 812 the year before. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2026 Tax season is busy, but the IRS dispatches extra agents to answer calls in the weeks leading up to April 15. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 27 June 2026 Robin quickly and viscerally dispatches his foe, before going up against a larger swath of enemies who are targeting his former partner-in-banditry Little John (played by Bill Skarsgård). — David Sims, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026

Noun

Ada Scott, an elderly reporter who was close to retirement, regularly wrote glowing dispatches about Puente in the 1960s for The East Yolo Record, a newspaper that operated in what is now West Sacramento. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026 In the spirit of snacking, here are bite-sized dispatches from some of the Vogue team’s favorite foods at fashion week. — Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026 As Washington dispatches envoys and Ukraine hits a key Russian Black Sea naval base, both sides dig in for a grinding war that Zelensky warns must bring real consequences for Moscow. — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 For common-sense dispatches from the frontier of ETF proliferation and smart portfolio construction, check out the X account and research pieces of Morningstar Research's Jeffrey Ptak. — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026 Xinhua News has issued official reports about the disaster and technical dispatches about the science of the glacial lakes. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026 Once Lamb starts publishing daily dispatches about her abduction at the hands of Indo‑Trinidadian radicals demanding a ransom, the writing is on the walls that this woman is going to die. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026 The chattiness of Eddy’s dispatches does little to conceal that the novel’s Jamaica is a grim place for gay men. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 The City Council is now considering a bill that would require City Hall to issue emergency notifications any time FDNY EMS has more than 25 pending ambulance dispatches. — Ali Bauman, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispatches

Verb

The second, non-incumbent Sullivan advanced to the general election after Alaska's nonpartisan primary that sends the top four vote-getters to the fall ballot.

— Ashley Lopez, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
Advertisement Spain’s rail infrastructure uses the German LZB (Linienzugbeeinflussung) system, a railway safety technology that monitors train speeds and sends traffic instructions to the driver’s cab.

— Chad de Guzman, Time, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of sends

Verb

In the end, Matt kills everybody who wronged him (plus several innocent people), and is forced to live as a reclusive mud monster in the sewers.

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
Crime, courts and policing A man kills his teenage ex-girlfriend in Arcadia and then shoots himself.

— Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of kills

Verb

In the final race of his career, 3-year-old Man O War defeats 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race, the Kenilworth Park Gold Cup.

— Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
This eventually defeats Other Mommy, leaving the happy family of three intact — even though there’s subtext that Bela will always have a little discomfort around her mother.

— William Earl, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of defeats

Noun

On Monday, prosecutors sent similar letters to every county in the state, including Sacramento.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Huang’s ideas concerned two formulas that appeared in Ramanujan’s letters and are now known as the Rogers-Ramanujan identities.

— Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of letters

Verb

Store Manager promptly ships off the robot in a coffin-sized box, assuring Chrissy that the purchase is fully refundable during the trial period.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026
Avalo, which uses AI to naturally breed cotton that can adapt in the region it’s grown, then ships each order.

— Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of ships

Verb

This overfeeding triggers a runaway nuclear explosion that usually destroys the white dwarf.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 27 Oct. 2026
The more useful skill for leaders and investors is learning to distinguish between a problem that destroys value and one that can be solved in a way that creates it.

— Michael Ligon, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of destroys

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Style

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

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Synonyms of dispatches

verb

noun

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