as in criterion
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared
a legendary Broadway flop that has subsequently become the barometer by which failure in the theater is judged
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Recent Examples of barometer
Of course neither an award nor a banning is an accurate barometer of the originality or beauty of a thing, and the marketplace that determines whether a book is read by eager millions or six gentle poets in quiet contemplation is a poor barometer as well.
—
Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
Chuck Hatfield, an attorney involved in lawsuits to strike down the map, framed the suit as the most important barometer in the fight against Missouri’s new districts.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2026
Prior to Wednesday, speculators had been fairly balanced in their view of whether a 25-basis-point cut would come at the FOMC’s next meeting in March, giving it a probability of around 40%, per CME’s FedWatch barometer.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
This uneven foundation is what makes the next few weeks particularly important as a barometer of the broader consumer outlook.
—Allie Canal, NBC news, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barometer
Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
Chuck Hatfield, an attorney involved in lawsuits to strike down the map, framed the suit as the most important barometer in the fight against Missouri’s new districts.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2026
Prior to Wednesday, speculators had been fairly balanced in their view of whether a 25-basis-point cut would come at the FOMC’s next meeting in March, giving it a probability of around 40%, per CME’s FedWatch barometer.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
This uneven foundation is what makes the next few weeks particularly important as a barometer of the broader consumer outlook.
—Allie Canal, NBC news, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barometer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barometer
Noun
-
The new criteria includes failure to exercise impartiality in prosecutions; failure to strictly comply with the State Bar of Georgia’s code of professional conduct; failure to comply with open records laws; and failure to comply with discovery procedures.—
David Wickert,
AJC.com,
28 Feb. 2026
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The new decision tree is intended to prevent a repeat of those problems by laying out clear criteria the council must consider before putting another bond package on the ballot.—
Chaya Tong,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The more senior players should, in theory, be setting standards and taking their younger team-mates along with them, but appear unable to do either.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Anthropic had loosened its core safety policy to better adapt to a fast-moving market in which competitors may not abide by the same safety standards.—
Auzinea Bacon,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The loss dropped the Celtics to 38-20, preventing them from clearing a benchmark all but three NBA champions since 1980 have cleared.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Actor Adam Scott delivered a compelling performance as Mark Scout, a man navigating a fractured identity, while producer Nicholas Weinstock helped drive record viewership and set a new benchmark for premium content.—
Partner Content,
Variety,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Ask and offer in equal measure.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Sirens sounded across Israel as a precautionary measure, alerting the public to potential missile attacks, the IDF confirmed.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barometer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barometer. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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