SAYS Synonyms: 176 Similar and Opposite Words

says 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of say

as in tells

to express (a thought or emotion) in words why don't you just say what's on your mind?

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in expresses

to convey in appropriate or telling terms I'm not quite sure how to say this, but that's the worst essay I've ever read

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as in recites

to give from memory say your prayers

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reads

as in assumes

to take as true or as a fact without actual proof let's say, for the sake of argument, that this is true

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

says

2 of 2

noun

plural of say

as in shares

the right to express a wish, choice, or opinion even if they decide otherwise, at least I had my say

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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 says

Verb

Defense says evidence is circumstantial, seeks lower bond Brown’s attorney, Bryan Hoeller, filed a motion on Tuesday seeking to reduce his bond, which had been set at $2 million. — Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026 The company says its CoSMo fusion systems are based on the magnetic mirror concept, which uses magnetic fields to confine high-temperature plasma. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 July 2026 Unfortunately for this part of the Lamborghini customer base, its chief marketing and sales officer Federico Foschini says there are currently no plans to put a similar transmission in one of the marque’s supercars. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 15 July 2026 Bauman has banked his own and says that not a week passes without a celebrity inquiry. — Ramona Saviss, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026 Bland, the judge’s order says, will be monitored by the Mental Health Administrator’s Office, which must inform the court if Bland violates her conditional release. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026 The lawsuit says the layoffs violated several state and federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. — Barbara Ortutay, Fortune, 15 July 2026 Authorities recovered some of Erving’s clothing and his phone after the juvenile showed them where they had been discarded, the affidavit says. — Holly Yan, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 Israel retaliated with a massive military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry says, around half of them women and children. — Bilal Shbeir, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Noun

The idea, Was says, was to focus on Weir’s songs and the characters in them rather than on the jammy side of the Dead. — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 17 Feb. 2026 It was given a 60 percent chance of cyclone formation through seven says—a 10- percentage-point increase over the previous day. — Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025 But today, the 42-year-old says, time would be better spent studying a more niche topic intertwined with AI, like AI for biology—or maybe not a degree at all. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for says

Verb

The thing is Georgia wasn’t antagonizing her (and Ariana tells her as much).

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Blake’s 7 tells the story of Roj Blake, a political dissident working against the totalitarian Federation controlling Earth and its colonies.

— William Worrall, Space.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of tells

Verb

In one of Nolan’s subtle but important additions to Homer’s tale, all throughout the film, everyone expresses fears about the People from the Sea, this unseen menace terrorizing different towns.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 July 2026
Truly someone who has those types of values and expresses them very publicly.

— Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

Definition of expresses

Verb

Guitars take the place of shovels, as Henry now repays Carlos’ kindness by helping to save the land that Carlos assumes is ravaged.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
There is a real risk of cultural bias if AI assumes the whole world, ranging from Argentina and Egypt to Japan and Zimbabwe, ought to pursue the same values as the Western world.

— Alexandra Figueroa, The Conversation, 14 July 2026

Definition of assumes

Noun

Zendaya as Athena The goddess of wisdom and war, Athena watches over Odysseus throughout his journey and shares brief but impactful scenes with him.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
Days after analysts at more than a dozen banks rolled out price targets that were almost uniformly bullish, the shares tumbled below their $135 IPO price for the first time, then kept falling toward $125.

— Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 July 2026

Definition of shares

Verb

Halfway through, Mando is captured by Clone Wars’ bounty hunter Embo, who was voiced by Filoni on the show but never utters so much as a single line of dialogue here.

— Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 22 May 2026
Yet Cornelius Krull, the patriarch, speaks only a German dialect and never utters more than two words.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 May 2026

Definition of utters

Verb

Advocates and city councilors said at an April Council hearing that the Wu administration’s inaction has cost the city millions in federal grant funding and puts cyclists and pedestrians at risk.

— Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 22 July 2026
That puts additional weight on the value of the face-to-face interview — one of the last remaining stages of the hiring process that can’t be automated.

— Cami Fateh, Vogue, 22 July 2026

Definition of puts

Verb

Just as important, Beard believes the auction houses adjusted to the new market faster than much of the private market.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026
But should cynics in the industry be tapping the brakes a little, to make sure everybody believes Dean is all that, before giving her an official coronation?

— Chris Willman, Variety, 17 July 2026