as in psychotic
unable to think in a clear or sensible way
by film's end it's obvious that faded movie star Norma Desmond is completely bats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hits
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
a sharp bat with a rolled-up newspaper and that fly was a goner
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in canes
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
riot policemen armed with bats and tear gas
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in knocks
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
batted the lamp off the table with one strike
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in licks
to strike repeatedly
batted the piñata until it finally broke open
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in roams
to move about from place to place aimlessly
on Sunday afternoons we'd pile into Father's car and bat around the countryside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of bats
Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 6 Mar. 2026
Playing a rare spring night game, Red Sox pitching prospect Jake Bennett got the start and had a tough time against the Puerto Rican bats.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Outfielder Kyle Stowers, who has been sidelined with a hamstring strain, will get live at-bats on the back fields and start a running progression in the next few days.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
And his nine home runs with runners on base led the Padres despite his having just the sixth-highest number of at-bats with men on.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
Besides not developing cancer, bats also resist catching infections, such as COVID, from other animals.
—Milly Dawson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2026
In 11 career at-bats against Kershaw, Ohtani has no hits.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Kirn Young Kim, then 16, wasn’t in the garage where his friends beat Tay to death with baseball bats and a sledgehammer.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 3 Mar. 2026
It's spread by high-risk animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes and groundhogs as well as domestic animals like cats, dogs and ferrets.
—Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Taylor bats leadoff for the presumptive Best Picture favorite.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
If Roberts bats Tucker second and Smith fifth, Freeman would likely take over as the cleanup hitter.
—Katie Woo, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
No one, in this room of 150-plus diners, bats an eye.
—Lisa Hughes, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025
Malice bats third to effortlessly deliver some of his best lyrical work from Let God Sort Em Out.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 12 Nov. 2025
Mookie Betts, who bats directly behind Ohtani, is just 3-for-23 in this Fall Classic.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
However, this one bats a pretty impressive average, and the triptych structure keeps things moving at a nice clip.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer emphasized that the Pirates' toughest free agency decision will be figuring out which bats the team can acquire to back Skenes.
—Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
Burger had entered the game 0 for 3 against Ragans in regular-season matchups with strikeouts in all three at-bats.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 6 Mar. 2026
Playing a rare spring night game, Red Sox pitching prospect Jake Bennett got the start and had a tough time against the Puerto Rican bats.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Outfielder Kyle Stowers, who has been sidelined with a hamstring strain, will get live at-bats on the back fields and start a running progression in the next few days.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
And his nine home runs with runners on base led the Padres despite his having just the sixth-highest number of at-bats with men on.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
Besides not developing cancer, bats also resist catching infections, such as COVID, from other animals.
—Milly Dawson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2026
In 11 career at-bats against Kershaw, Ohtani has no hits.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Kirn Young Kim, then 16, wasn’t in the garage where his friends beat Tay to death with baseball bats and a sledgehammer.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 3 Mar. 2026
It's spread by high-risk animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes and groundhogs as well as domestic animals like cats, dogs and ferrets.
—Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Verb
The food chain is in full and pitiless effect, and no one bats an eye, or side-eyes a bat, when natural predatory impulses kick in.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Taylor bats leadoff for the presumptive Best Picture favorite.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
If Roberts bats Tucker second and Smith fifth, Freeman would likely take over as the cleanup hitter.
—Katie Woo, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
No one, in this room of 150-plus diners, bats an eye.
—Lisa Hughes, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025
Malice bats third to effortlessly deliver some of his best lyrical work from Let God Sort Em Out.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 12 Nov. 2025
Mookie Betts, who bats directly behind Ohtani, is just 3-for-23 in this Fall Classic.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
However, this one bats a pretty impressive average, and the triptych structure keeps things moving at a nice clip.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer emphasized that the Pirates' toughest free agency decision will be figuring out which bats the team can acquire to back Skenes.
—Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bats
Adjective
-
In schizophrenia, one type of psychotic disorder, exercise is believed to be neuroprotective, tamping down inflammation in the brain and spurring the release of chemicals that support and maintain brain cell growth.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
However, a person must meet seven criteria to be eligible, including a diagnosis of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder at a severe level.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In 2023, Araúz was a regular for Panama in the WBC, collecting four hits and three walks in 19 plate appearances and driving in three runs.—
Melissa Lockard,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Italy starter Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in 4 2/3 scoreless innings to keep the Americans off balance.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Repeating this cycle helps replace older canes with new, stronger growth.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Since the goal is to remove most of the old stems, prune back thick remaining stems to new canes that develop lower on the stem over the next couple of years.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
These are not knocks on Miami of Ohio.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Opportunity knocks when an aspiring video game designer (Myles Erlick) is given a time-stopping device by his friend (Sean Astin), the eccentric owner of a toy store.—
Travis Pinson,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Then, Mitski licks up the blood on the girl’s finger.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
-
After the drill, Ruin rolls onto his back, then licks a reporter's nose.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Brian McCann and Fredi Gonzalez are coaches, while Georgia boy Byron Buxton roams the outfield.—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Voorhees is mad about all of that, but made a point of clarification.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Prince William and Kate Middleton were extremely mad at the press in 2012 over a topless photo scandal.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The blows exchanged were so numerous that The Athletic had to assign Jack Lang to patiently trawl through footage of them all.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The MacBook Neo dealt a series of mighty blows to its budget PC competition, but that Lenovo machine’s Arm processor presented some challenges for the Apple laptop’s iPhone chip.—
Joe Osborne,
PC Magazine,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bats. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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