applies

present tense third-person singular of apply
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as in exerts
to bring to bear especially forcefully or effectively apply pressure to the area to stop the bleeding

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 applies Legal observers are also watching whether the Court’s conservative majority—which invoked the major questions doctrine to strike down Biden-era initiatives on student loans, pandemic mandates, and climate rules—applies the same standard to a Republican president. Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025 The same applies to Stanley Black & Decker — a big Wednesday gainer. Jeff Marks, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025 And that applies to friends, too. Carolina Abbott Galvão, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025 This also applies to people working for nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations. Jennifer L. Steele, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2025 The same applies to other mouse and rodent remedies, such as poison or live traps. Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2025 The Standard tier applies to any Core Ultra 200 series CPU, desktop, or laptop, as well as Intel Arc graphics cards, such as the A550M and B580. PC Magazine, 3 Nov. 2025 The case could become a major test of how Section 203 applies to 1980s-era contracts and how loan-out corporations affect writers’ ability to reclaim ownership of their original works. Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025 The brief also contends Title IX applies to revenue sharing. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for applies
Verb
  • As Stephen Greenblatt relates thrillingly in his new biography, Dark Renaissance, Marlowe led a brief and stormy life that deeply transformed the theater.
    Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The mandate relates just to the Sounders and does not include the Seattle Reign, the NWSL team that the Sounders bought last year in a $58 million deal.
    Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Margolick devotes much space to the writers’ quarrels, their gripes, their resentment of one another.
    David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Millard devotes a large amount of space to Bell in her book, ending with his agonizing failure, depicted in the end, to get the induction balance to work on Garfield as intended.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Visual aura is likely caused by a wave of electrical and chemical activity that spreads across the brain.
    Angela Haupt, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Leaming said there may be broader implications if this plan works, and the pattern spreads.
    Rachel Barber, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • On the back end, VA is ramping up AI uses that ease the burden on workers.
    Adam Stone, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
  • My lightning patch was made by Barrière, whose co-founder Cleo Davis-Urman told me that the company uses a process called micronization to break down large molecules into particles small enough to enter the bloodstream.
    Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The team traced this distortion to optostriction, where the electromagnetic field of light exerts a small but measurable mechanical force on the atoms.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2025
  • His memoir is a patchy affair, to be honest, which omits entire swaths of his achievement, yet its wayward momentum exerts a certain charm, as if Hopkins were only just in control of his reminiscences.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The courseware grading system enforces the use of an unambiguous grading rubric, which furthers the bureaucratization of classroom life that helped to amplify grade inflation in the first place.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025
  • The South Asian archipelago, which has a population of over half a million, already enforces a complete ban on vapes and electronic cigarettes — regardless of age — in an effort to cut down on smoking across the country.
    Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Tie the drink’s ingredients or theme into something that pertains to the couple’s interests or history.
    Metro Creative Services, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The litigation pertains to government actions in many parts of the country.
    Mark Scolforo, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This gives guests direct access to historic centers and cultural landmarks while allowing more time to explore.
    DeAnna Taylor, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Decisions at COPs are made by consensus, meaning countries must agree on everything — a feature which technically gives any nation a veto and can make progress very slow and fraught.
    Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Applies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/applies. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.

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