give

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as in to yield
to produce as revenue a company that consistently gives $30 million in profits to the owner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in to transmit
to cause (something) to pass from one to another she gave her cold to me, and now I'm so sick that I can barely get out of bed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb give contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of give are afford, bestow, confer, donate, and present. While all these words mean "to convey to another as a possession," give, the general term, is applicable to any passing over of anything by any means.

give alms
gave her a ride on a pony
give my love to your mother

When is it sensible to use afford instead of give?

Although the words afford and give have much in common, afford implies a giving or bestowing usually as a natural or legitimate consequence of the character of the giver.

the trees afford shade
a development that affords us some hope

When can bestow be used instead of give?

While the synonyms bestow and give are close in meaning, bestow implies the conveying of something as a gift and may suggest condescension on the part of the giver.

bestow unwanted advice

When is confer a more appropriate choice than give?

While in some cases nearly identical to give, confer implies a gracious giving (as of a favor or honor).

confer an honorary degree

In what contexts can donate take the place of give?

The synonyms donate and give are sometimes interchangeable, but donate is likely to imply a publicized giving (as to charity).

donate a piano to the orphanage

When might present be a better fit than give?

The meanings of present and give largely overlap; however, present carries a note of formality and ceremony.

present an award

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 give For adult couples who could use more space to stretch out, some trundles also pop up to give guests extra room. Blake Bakkila, Architectural Digest, 21 Apr. 2025 The small loveseat can hold two people and has a unique rounded design that gives your room a modern, but retro look. Christopher Murray, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025 McIntyre, though upset over his lack of presence in the world title picture, wanted fans to give his feud with a Priest a chance before writing it off. Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025 In 2017 Francis gave a copy of his 2015 climate encyclical to President Trump, who visited him at the Vatican during his first term. Jeff Brady, NPR, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for give
Recent Examples of Synonyms for give
Verb
  • These 14 centers include some that maintain banks of brains that were donated to science by people who suffered from dementia upon their death.
    Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Keiser said fans responded by donating ears in a variety of themes — Haunted Mansion, Star Wars, Main Street Electrical Parade, Minnie Mouse — from personal piles and storage.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Prosecutors accused Read of striking O’Keefe with her SUV then leaving him to die in the snow.
    Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Four defeats in their first five outings left the team in a lowly sixth in the eight-team division, seven points behind Swansea City in fifth.
    Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Among its facilities is an underground cafeteria with seating for 300 people, which offers a sense of how many people could be housed there.
    Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 1 May 2025
  • Annie Stafford, 29, lives in Melbourne, Australia, and is the founder of business Ford Wardrobe, which offers courses on how to sew.
    Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The game had barely started when Bentaleb abruptly stopped running, sat down and then collapsed on the ground.
    Tom Williams, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025
  • But, as ballots were being counted, government authorities announced that the electoral system had collapsed.
    Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Lionel Messi, who met the pope in 2013, paid tribute to on the social network X, posting a picture of the pope accepting an olive tree from him.
    Mike Snider, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Filers earning more than $100,000 per year pay 85% of the income tax, while those under $100,000, representing 72% of filers, pay the remaining 15%, according to the statistics.
    Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Yi Ming’s personal resilience and love of light is expressed in the work.
    Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Researchers have also expressed concerns about potential corrosion of storage containers, specifically the copper canisters.
    Marta Abbà, Wired News, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The key to successfully bringing family into the C-suite is devoting time and training them and moving each of them up over time.
    Ray Titus, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
  • The Beavers appear more willing to devote every dollar possible to winning on the field during the Pac-12's transition.
    Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 1 May 2025
Verb
  • As a collective, HQ Portfolio stocks have yielded superior returns with less risk in comparison to the benchmark index; resulting in a less turbulent experience, as evidenced in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Health plans improved on the other three measures, but not enough to avoid penalties, which yielded $15 million.
    Bernard J. Wolfson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Give.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/give. Accessed 4 May. 2025.

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