airs 1 of 2

plural of air

airs

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of air

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun airs contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of airs are affectation, air, mannerism, and pose. While all these words mean "an adopted way of speaking or behaving," airs always implies artificiality and pretentiousness.

snobbish airs

Where would affectation be a reasonable alternative to airs?

The meanings of affectation and airs largely overlap; however, affectation applies to a trick of speech or behavior that strikes the observer as insincere.

the posh accent is an affectation

In what contexts can air take the place of airs?

In some situations, the words air and airs are roughly equivalent. However, air may suggest natural acquirement through environment or way of life.

a traveler's sophisticated air

When could mannerism be used to replace airs?

The words mannerism and airs can be used in similar contexts, but mannerism applies to an acquired eccentricity that has become a habit.

gesturing with a cigarette was her most noticeable mannerism

When might pose be a better fit than airs?

While the synonyms pose and airs are close in meaning, pose implies an attitude deliberately assumed in order to impress others.

her shyness was just a pose

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 airs
Noun
As season seven airs, Newport is juggling her divorce alongside a string of high-profile romances. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2026 South Park airs on Comedy Central, which is owned by Paramount. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026 BravesVision’s an option for all three, but Tuesday’s game simulcasts on your local Gray TV station and Thursday’s also airs on FS1. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Unlike with FanDuel, there currently are no plans for WPLG re-airs the day following games. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026 Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, the journalist’s other show which airs on Friday evenings, was also renamed. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026 Lainey Wilson will return to the role of CMA Awards host when Country Music’s Biggest Night airs live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 18. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2026 It’s long ceased to be a neighborhood that puts on airs, an attitude that liberates us all tonight. — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026 Discourse in the group continues long after the show airs, with members keeping up with the contestants from past seasons via social media and clamoring for details about their lives. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
Snoop Dogg hosts the ceremony, which airs live on CBS and MTV and streams on Paramount+. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 27 Sep. 2026 Purnell currently leads Prime Video’s Fallout and Sky Atlantic’s dark comedy Sweetpea, which airs its second season in November. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026 Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays on ABC and is available to stream on Disney+. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2026 His studio, The Devil’s Workshop, is located in Berwyn, a town that’s also a running gag on Svengoolie’s show, which airs Saturday nights on MeTV. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026 Moreno is mum about what transpired at the reunion, which airs on Monday, August 31, but says that Dean approached her in the hallway to clear the air. — Paula Mejía, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026 The popular reality program that airs three times a week on CBS is a one-of-a-kind social experiment where 16 strangers are locked in a house together for the summer. — Matt Minton, Variety, 24 Aug. 2026 For $6/month, viewers can watch all out-of-market live preseason action on NFL+, unless the game airs on a national network, as is the case Thursday night when ESPN covers Fernando Mendoza and the Las Vegas Raiders’ trip to play the Houston Texans. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The series airs every Tuesday evening and then streams after that. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for airs
Noun
  • And how pissed must Luann have been only two months later to find out that Carole was going to be carrying that torch right back to being the center apple of the show?
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The rare show of alignment among fierce rivals was soon countered by comments from Meta’s Zuckerberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, both of whom dismissed the slowdown idea.
    — Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Larson headlined the Apple TV+’s Lessons in Chemistry, earning Emmy, SAG, Critics Choice, and Golden Globe nominations, and voices Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Vasarhelyi, seemingly a less hands-on presence in this project, voices a few more misgivings, at one stage pointedly asking her husband how many people who have previously been guests at their dinner table are now dead.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • After slogans criticizing the Sacramento State administration appeared in chalk on the facade of a 64-year-old campus building earlier this week, at least one student is now facing potential disciplinary action.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Roses and a soft orange nod to the way light catches on its facades.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Sometimes a judge will do that if a defendant credibly expresses remorse for his crimes.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In a post on Bluesky, freelance journalist Tim Stevens expresses frustration with the changes to Beehiiv that he’s seen after switching to the platform earlier this year.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Conference expansion has shattered pretenses to regional coherence.
    — Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Cinematic pretense and the kinds political leaders and media personalities use to sell ideas are often one and the same.
    — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • That range gives a launcher positioned on Yonaguni the ability to threaten ships operating across a substantial area around the island and toward Taiwan.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Everyone here almost too respectfully gives one another their turn to speak, the conversation rarely fomenting into argument or overlapping chatter.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • But unlike Backrooms, SCP Foundation has always been more centralized to this one website, and every subsequent SCP Foundation work has always fallen under the guise of the Creative Commons license, something the Backrooms creepypasta never did.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026
  • As critics such as Antonio Candido have remarked, regionalism was at bottom an attempt to render Latin American reality in its dominant rural guise.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Send it to a dedicated landing page that explains the investment, states the capital requirement plainly and asks the candidate to complete a real application.
    — Jonathan Durante, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In February 2022, agents interviewed Esteban, who told them that the man who picked him and Maria up from the airport was named Eart, who the complaint states is Knowles.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Airs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/airs. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster