assays 1 of 2

noun

plural of assay
1
as in analyses
the separation and identification of the parts of a whole a metallurgist did an assay on the metal and determined it contained nickel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attempts
archaic an effort to do or accomplish something the poem about a frustrated man's last assay at greatness

Synonyms & Similar Words

assays

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of assay
1
as in analyzes
to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships the company assayed a sample of the rock to see if it contained gold in quantities worth mining

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tries
to make an effort to do assaying the task of writing his autobiography

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 assays
Noun
Standard assays for measuring plastic breakdown are exceptionally slow because solid PET plastic resists dissolution, stretching testing timelines across several days. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026 One study evaluated the anticancer potential of citrus peels on in vitro (test tube) assays and in vivo (living organism) cancer models. — Kathi Valeii, Verywell Health, 6 Aug. 2026 The GeneXpert assays routinely used during Ebola responses were developed primarily to detect Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), the species responsible for the devastating West African epidemic of 2014-2016 and most subsequent Ebola outbreaks. — Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 1 July 2026 To work around these limitations, epidemiologists in the field have turned to broader-spectrum diagnostic kits and alternative rapid assays, though shortages of testing supplies and the logistical difficulties of operating in remote outbreak regions continue to hamper response efforts. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 May 2026 So, as long as your tests involve one of the assays that Finch can handle, then there’s an additional step that can be performed by the system. — ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026 Having completed space vacuum and temperature tests, the observatory only has a few assays left. — Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2026 Common testing methods include reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, viral culture and immunofluorescence assays. — Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026 But while most of that capital flows into drug discovery, the white space is in clinical infrastructure—where predictive assays can shift spend from catastrophic claims to actuarial foresight. — Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assays
  1. analyses
  2. attempts
  3. analyzes
  4. tries
  5. investigations
  6. goes
  7. dissects
  8. strives
Noun
  • Ruhs then performed statistical analyses, to look for overall trends in size.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Two analyses, from UC Berkeley and UC Merced, found different results on the financial impact of the law.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of analyses
Noun
  • If multiple attempts to form a government fail, Israel faces a new election early next year.
    — CARA ANNA, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened at the end of September in South Los Angeles, after a more than eight-year construction process and failed attempts by the Star Wars creator who funded it to site it in Chicago or San Francisco.
    — Nicholas Clairmont, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of attempts
Verb
  • Its bot ingests and analyzes the data from a patient's bloodwork, then makes recommendations (for follow-up testing, medications, etc), then that is all reviewed by a human physician.
    — Fiorella Valdesolo, Allure, 30 Oct. 2026
  • That has had a chilling effect on immigrant communities living in the state according to Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, the immigration and economic security policy analyst with the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a think tank that analyzes state policy.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of analyzes
Verb
  • The company tries to make that connection real by inviting people in.
    — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Arriving a week before Christmas, Mark halfheartedly tries to pull together a celebration for Bobby, but fate intervenes when the Seversons meet the Kringles, a family that celebrates the holiday year-round.
    — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of tries
Noun
  • The students also demanded changes in the judiciary and urgent investigations in top-level corruption cases that might have been sidelined due to political pressure under Vucic.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Voting by noncitizens has been shown by audits and investigations to be extremely rare.
    — Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of investigations
Noun
  • The Arch Fit Arcade sneakers are a goes-with-everything pick that offers plenty of support without looking like orthotics.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 23 Oct. 2026
  • As far as co-op puzzle-solving goes, Orbitals doesn’t reinvent the wheel.
    — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of goes
Verb
  • In a conversation with THR, Sloyan dissects playing Margaret, the character’s dark path, surprise reveal, her demise and her pitch for a Margaret prequel.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Ward dissects the Black experience in America, reflects on her own experience as a young Black girl growing up in poverty in southern Mississippi, lauds the writers who influenced her, and examines her own motivations as a writer.
    — The Know, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of dissects
Verb
  • Eager to carry on the family legacy, Charlie strives to become a Baywatch lifeguard alongside her dad.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In so doing, the tradition could achieve for ASL what the word of the year strives to achieve for English.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of strives

Browse Nearby Words

assaying
assays
assemblage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Assays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assays. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All