as in songs
a short musical composition for the human voice often with instrumental accompaniment
a haunting ballad about lost love and loneliness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of ballads
In stark contrast to the treacly ballads of 2025’s Every Video Without Your Face, Every Sound Without Your Name, Mr Cobra is all jagged edges, informed by free jazz, musique concrète, and experimental cinema.
—
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 Mar. 2026
Yet the ballads are also strong, conveying palpable sorrow as the family members figure up their losses.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 19 Mar. 2026
For years, the Oscars’ in memoriam segment has been scored with weepy music and sentimental ballads.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Alicia Creti is a vocal powerhouse and her candid ballads stole the show at Billboard House.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2026
Both have exceptional voices, stern POVs that turbo-charge defiant breakup ballads and the same manager, Nick Shymansky.
—Ramon Ramirez, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
One fan’s decision to belt out power ballads instead of just screaming during Stanford’s free throws at the ACC Tournament has turned into the most shareable fan moment heading into March Madness.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Born into an Ecuadorian-Guatemalan family, Southern California’s Trish Toledo first began signing cumbias and ballads before falling head-over-heels for the timeless pop, R&B and soul recordings from the ’60s and ’70s.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
And the violent scenes aren’t grotesque or didactic — think of Miles’ muted trumpet sound reconfigured as resurrection visuals, of his ability to play and stage ballads so well that their uptempo momentum moves into territories too macabre to mute.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 Mar. 2026
Yet the ballads are also strong, conveying palpable sorrow as the family members figure up their losses.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 19 Mar. 2026
For years, the Oscars’ in memoriam segment has been scored with weepy music and sentimental ballads.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Alicia Creti is a vocal powerhouse and her candid ballads stole the show at Billboard House.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2026
Both have exceptional voices, stern POVs that turbo-charge defiant breakup ballads and the same manager, Nick Shymansky.
—Ramon Ramirez, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
One fan’s decision to belt out power ballads instead of just screaming during Stanford’s free throws at the ACC Tournament has turned into the most shareable fan moment heading into March Madness.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Born into an Ecuadorian-Guatemalan family, Southern California’s Trish Toledo first began signing cumbias and ballads before falling head-over-heels for the timeless pop, R&B and soul recordings from the ’60s and ’70s.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
And the violent scenes aren’t grotesque or didactic — think of Miles’ muted trumpet sound reconfigured as resurrection visuals, of his ability to play and stage ballads so well that their uptempo momentum moves into territories too macabre to mute.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballads
Noun
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These outsized musical personalities often leave more distinctive fingerprints on the songs than the BTS members themselves do.—
Mitch Therieau,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
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The centerpiece is Love Rocks, built around seven songs by Lenny Kravitz.—
Manuel Mendoza,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The first is rewriting public-domain hymns with community members to sing at protests.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Instead, the words written in her autobiography served as the guide for the two-hour service filled with hymns and scriptures, as Christ Episcopal Church rector Father Jonathan Archer read a passage from the book which was published in 2000 during her memorial on Friday.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That same urban canyon effect made lyrics even harder to catch.—
Yook JiHun,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
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With their blissful harmonies and flowery, mystical lyrics, the Texas duo embodied soft rock, ushering in the genre at the dawn of the Seventies with a gentle nudge and a tip of Seals’ signature newsboy cap.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Recorded a few months after Dogs came out, Megacity Madness spotlights several of the album’s most potent feel-bad anthems.—
Zach Schonfeld,
Pitchfork,
17 Mar. 2026
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Just before midnight, the masterful mashup duo, Loud Luxury took the stage with a rapid-fire mashup set that jumped between throwbacks and club anthems in unexpected combinations.—
Walaa Elsiddig,
Billboard,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The vocals twitch as a backflipping commotion takes over the streets.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
20 Mar. 2026
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Since then, Malia has steadily delivered an evolving repertoire of music rooted in her striking vocals and vivid storytelling that has often been lifted from the pages of her journal.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ballads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballads. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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