trend 1 of 2

1
as in tide
a prevailing or general movement or inclination according to the survey, there's a growing trend for companies to run their own day-care centers for the benefit of employees

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2

trend

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to tend
to show a liking or proneness (for something) during the winter our school system trends toward canceling school at the drop of a hat—or at least a snowflake

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to curve
to turn away from a straight line or course the river trends east, then west again, forming an oxbow

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word trend different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of trend are current, drift, tendency, and tenor. While all these words mean "movement in a particular direction," trend applies to the general direction maintained by a winding or irregular course.

the long-term trend of the stock market is upward

When can current be used instead of trend?

In some situations, the words current and trend are roughly equivalent. However, current implies a clearly defined but not necessarily unalterable course.

an encounter that changed the current of my life

When is drift a more appropriate choice than trend?

The synonyms drift and trend are sometimes interchangeable, but drift may apply to a tendency determined by external forces, or it may apply to an underlying or obscure trend of meaning or discourse.

the drift of the population away from large cities
got the drift of her argument

When might tendency be a better fit than trend?

The words tendency and trend are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, tendency implies an inclination sometimes amounting to an impelling force.

a general tendency toward inflation

When is it sensible to use tenor instead of trend?

The meanings of tenor and trend largely overlap; however, tenor stresses a clearly perceptible direction and a continuous, undeviating course.

the tenor of the times

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 trend
Noun
Climate change and monster storms Hurricane Allen’s shocking winds in 1980, before a noticeable trend of increasingly intense hurricanes was observed, are an important reminder that climate change does not directly cause monster hurricanes. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025 That move inspired a trend for first ladies to foster at least one key project. NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
Datskovska regularly reports on trending beauty bestsellers worth readers’ time and money. Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025 After that, prices trended down, declining to $7,000 in September 2025. Melinda Yao, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for trend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trend
Noun
  • To have the chance to turn the tide.
    Alec Lewis, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Fully understanding how weather, flows, tides, and a plethora of other factors will help or hurt a bite are probably beyond your novice’s experience level.
    The Editors, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Beyond Meat once sold for almost $240 a share at the height of the meat alternative craze in the summer of 2019, after Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse brought it public at $25 a share in a May 2019 initial public offering.
    Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Raised in Blackpool, England, after his adoption into a working-class family, Ball grew up a budding artist with a penchant for the Northern soul craze then sweeping the north of England, obsessively collecting Tamla and Stax singles.
    Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • For people under 30, who may not even remember a time when influencers were not ubiquitous, as well as all manner of marketers and salespeople, the term’s connotations tend to be neutral to positive.
    Judy Berman, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Valadao, a dairy farmer from Hanford, tends to perform better during presidential election years when Trump is on the ballot, Abernathy said.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The style is striking, with wooden ceiling panels curved like rock formations and plenty of nods to the natural world in the form of stone, more wood and bronze.
    Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Plus, the legs are curved, providing more space to stretch out.
    Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The week ahead could bring butterflies to your heart and push you to step outside of your comfort zone and go in slightly new directions.
    Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Our test model featured a heads-up display that projects information like navigation directions and more.
    Charles Singh, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • These latests features are designed for enterprises who want to integrate their AI technology with either existing Salesforce data or even their own data.
    Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The latests deaths included three residents of long-term care facilities in Dallas, as well as a Balch Springs man in his 20s and a Dallas man in his 60s.
    Dana Branham, Dallas News, 30 Apr. 2020
Verb
  • Last year, 240,100 people in Arkansas received SNAP benefits, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank.
    Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2025
  • In the lead-up to the election, even many of my liberal patients, people who typically lean left and value inclusion and growth, expressed deep concern about what a Mamdani win would mean.
    Newsweek Contributors, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The collaboration between certain MAGA influencers and animal-rights activists has drawn out the most confrontational tendencies within each camp.
    Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • One way to estimate your tendency is with a Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire.
    Allison Aubrey, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Trend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trend. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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