1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

appoints

verb

present tense third-person singular of appoint
1
as in chooses
to decide upon (the time or date for an event) usually from a position of authority at the appointed hour we were in our places

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in nominates
to pick (someone) by one's authority for a specific position or duty was appointed to the council on national security

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 appoints Newsom appoints members to the foundation board, which determines what expenses to cover in the governor’s office. — Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2026 Under Iowa law, the governor appoints a replacement if the vacancy occurs while the Senate is in session or if the chamber will meet before the next general election. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 8 Sep. 2026 The governor also appoints all members of the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability. — Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice, 8 Sep. 2026 The speaker of the House appoints the House parliamentarian; the Senate parliamentarian serves at the pleasure of the secretary of the Senate, who is elected by senators at the start of each Congress. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026 The president appoints the secretary of the Interior Department. — Innisfree McKinnon, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026 The State Board of Education supervises public education in Michigan and appoints the state superintendent. — Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 28 Aug. 2026 The executive administers county affairs, appoints staff and a budget officer and can appoint department directors and other officers, subject in some cases to legislative disapproval. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026 Judge appoints attorney for Kohberger’s claims Now that Kohberger has filed a petition for post-conviction relief, what comes next? — Alex Brizee july 30, Idaho Statesman, 30 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appoints
  1. chooses
  2. nominates
  3. sets
  4. assigns
  5. selects
  6. constitutes
  7. designates
  8. announces
Verb
  • One-year deals give ABC and Kimmel optionality, as soon as either side chooses to act on it.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Sometimes a starship encounters a cosmic entity that — for some hard-to-fathom reason — chooses to study lesser mortals by forcing them into a big old game of dress-up.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of chooses
Verb
  • Even though the president nominates agency leaders, those commissioners are confirmed by the Senate and must not be unfairly punished for exercising independent judgment, Potter said.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 29 June 2026
  • Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, a surprising comeback after the former Navy SEAL was fired last May for defending the agency’s existence amid calls to dismantle it.
    — Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Definition of nominates
Verb
  • Once a site manager sets the initial plan, the software takes over the digging work.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Against this microcosm of the class war Lee sets the emergence of artificial intelligence, which threatens to further destabilize labor across a range of industries — including his own.
    — Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of sets
Verb
  • The statute assigns responsibility differently depending on the occupant’s age, so check the current version before assuming who gets the ticket.
    — Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Yet according to data from the CME FedWatch Tool, the market currently assigns roughly a 60% probability to a 25 basis point rate hike at next week's FOMC meeting, with notable volatility in recent days.
    — , CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of assigns
Verb
  • Amazon also said 92 percent of Sponsored Products ads are not given to the highest bidder because the company selects winners based on a combination of price and relevancy to the keyword search.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 1 Sep. 2026
  • When there are multiple logical possibilities for what the next word should be, the model typically selects one of those words by chance, based on their relative frequencies in the data.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of selects
Verb
  • Courts, regulators, creators and technology companies continue to grapple with when training constitutes permissible use, when licensing is required, and whether outputs can infringe on existing works.
    — Morey Haber, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Arguments over what constitutes an employer plan are not new, and other organizations have tried offering such coverage.
    — Julie Appleby, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of constitutes
Verb
  • Algerian state media reported, without presenting evidence, contact between Emirati diplomats and the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, or MAK, which Algeria designates a terrorist organization.
    — Tareq Alotaiba, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • For example, Seychelles’ constitution designates three national languages, of which French is one.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of designates
Verb
  • The inflation print comes before the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee announces its latest policy update on Thursday.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Tennis great Roger Federer announces his retirement from pro tennis at 41 with 20 grand slam wins and 103 ATP titles.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of announces

Browse Nearby Words

appointments
appoints
apportion
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Appoints.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appoints. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All