sentences 1 of 2

noun

plural of sentence
as in rulings
a decision made by a court or tribunal regarding a case it has heard he received a light sentence because it was his first offense and he was an otherwise upstanding citizen

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

sentences

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of sentence
as in condemns
to impose a judicial punishment on the judge sentenced him to a fine of $50 and time served

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 sentences
Noun
Completing their sentences with what sounds plausible is not preservation. — Masha Pearl, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2026 Mark Danielson, an attorney for Thomas, agreed that the sentences seemed reasonable. — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 1 July 2026 Upano’s operatic scope and clean, elegant sentences really swept me off my feet. — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026 Attorneys for the protesters have denied antifa links, and family members have expressed shock over the stiff sentences handed down in Texas. — Steven Rosenbaum, CBS News, 1 July 2026 The sentences will run concurrently, and Rullan was also ordered to pay $20,000 in fines. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026 Meanwhile, Mark was found guilty on 53 counts, including murder and other felony charges and was received two consecutive life in prison sentences plus 75 years without parole. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026 His use of the presidency’s sweeping ability to unilaterally grant pardons and commute sentences is among the ways the Republican’s return to office has featured an expansive use of executive power. — Michelle L. Price, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026 Other defendants sentenced Wednesday included Rebecca Morgan, Joy Gibson, Nathan Baumann, John Thomas, Lynette Sharp and Seth Sikes, with sentences ranging from 22 months to 15 years. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 July 2026
Verb
Charming sentences to find in a book by the sitting vice president of the United States! — Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026 Her sentences themselves have a cartilaginous magic. — Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026 Given that, Ake sentences her to a rehabilitation camp and separates her from her young son, Caleb. — Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026 A student can ask what claim the file appears to make, where the evidence is thin, which sentences sound inflated, and which lines could have been written by almost any strong applicant. — Gerald Bradshaw, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026 Despite the wholesale change in how California sentences juvenile offenders, outrage over the crime has not faded. — Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026 The case now goes to a hearing scheduled for June 1, where his attorneys will be allowed to argue his life be spared before Munyon formally sentences him. — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026 Williams was able to petition for resentencing due to a law enacted in 2011 that allowed judges to give juvenile offenders with life without parole sentences a chance to be resentenced. — CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026 The Seoul Central District Court sentences Yoon to five years in prison for resisting arrest and fabricating the martial law proclamation, the first verdict against Yoon. — ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentences
  1. rulings
  2. condemns
  3. findings
  4. punishes
  5. verdicts
  6. dooms
Noun
  • The Supreme Court's immigration rulings have largely allowed Trump to decide who can enter the United States and who must leave.
    — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • While condo association boards often have the authority to approve or deny sales, the prior circuit and appellate court rulings concluding the community’s documents do not grant it that authority may ultimately be reaffirmed in these current cases.
    — Nicole R. Kurtz, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
Definition of rulings
Verb
  • Victim's mother condemns domestic violence In a statement, Beaver's mother, Susan Beaver, said domestic violence affects too many families.
    — JT Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Olson went on to say that the Holy Father, like his predecessors, consistently condemns acts of terrorism, including those sanctioned by Iran and its surrogates in the Middle East.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2026
Definition of condemns
Noun
  • The two findings can both be true, Kharazian said, because the Stanford study was broader and didn’t focus just on the firms that use AI.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
  • The camp owners, the Eastland family, ultimately pulled their license request, but that wasn't the end of the camp's story, as the state lawmakers published, on June 18, 2026, the findings of their months-long investigation into the tragedy.
    — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 4 July 2026
Definition of findings
Verb
  • But Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the ban needlessly punishes the over 150 million Telegram users in the country, instead of the insiders who leaked the exam materials.
    — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 20 June 2026
  • Their primary concern is that the allocation formula punishes rec centers with large bank balances that city parks officials haven’t managed to spend on facilities upgrades or activities.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 2026
Definition of punishes
Noun
  • Sentences range from nearly two to 50 years, including terrorism and material-support convictions, following earlier trial verdicts that imposed up to 100 years on a former Marine reservist.
    — Jamie Stengle, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • The mistake in managing Gen Z is turning those differences into character verdicts.
    — Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of verdicts
Verb
  • This dooms the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of the villainous Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), who swoops in and snatches the throne.
    — Kevin Giraud, Variety, 23 June 2026
  • Either way, Clark’s decision to deny reality and embrace his monster is what dooms him.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Definition of dooms

Browse Nearby Words

sentenced
sentences
sentencing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sentences.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentences. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on sentences

Nglish: Translation of sentences for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All