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
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
That run, the product of a Narváez single and error by center fielder Lawrence Butler, was all the Boston bats managed.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
And then his final three at-bats Saturday were each such battles.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2025
The music thumped away, though at reduced volume, the bats performed their acrobatics over the pool, the hash pipe glowed, people began to yawn.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
The at-bats have been tremendous.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
With ghosts, witches, bats, and more creepy characters, the options for Halloween decorations are endless.
—Claire Harmeyer, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
But also, the altered climate patterns are really important for bats.
—Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
Some walk around carrying bats and sticks to protect themselves.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
So while the 27-year-old is one of the most potent bats available, teams will have to decide on his positional fit.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
That run, the product of a Narváez single and error by center fielder Lawrence Butler, was all the Boston bats managed.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
And then his final three at-bats Saturday were each such battles.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2025
The music thumped away, though at reduced volume, the bats performed their acrobatics over the pool, the hash pipe glowed, people began to yawn.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
The at-bats have been tremendous.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
With ghosts, witches, bats, and more creepy characters, the options for Halloween decorations are endless.
—Claire Harmeyer, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
But also, the altered climate patterns are really important for bats.
—Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
Some walk around carrying bats and sticks to protect themselves.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bats
Adjective
-
Brown's attorneys had said Brown could at times appear psychotic.—
Kevin Grasha,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Psychologists and psychiatrists are scrambling to better understand how use of chatbots can fuel delusions and drive psychotic episodes.—
Amy Feldman,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Getting in five or 10 hits against a boss might be relatively simple, but getting in 50 or so before dying yourself often requires near-perfect levels of focus and execution across multiple challenging attack phases.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Garcia in his comeback start threw six innings against the Los Angeles Angels, giving up three runs on three hits in a game won by Houston 8-3.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Cracker Barrel in Belleville still has lots of space between the tables, which is good, because a statistically improbable number of customers the other morning were using canes or walkers.—
Neal Rubin,
Freep.com,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Fennell explained that grapevine canes, the woody stems that support grape clusters, are an abundant, cellulose-rich material, and are available in the large quantities each year after harvest.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
His visit to her is the kind of single scene where an Oscar winner like Steenburgen knocks it out of the park.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The fun-loving entertainment hub doesn't yet have a US product page, but is up for pre-order on Amazon for US$799 (though there is a promo coupon available at time of writing that knocks a few dollars off that ticket price).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When asked the question, the owl takes the lollipop and licks it three times before chomping down on its hard shell exterior and handing the stick back to the child.—
Moná Thomas,
People.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The pair is seen crawling through a wildflower field, dancing, and jumping, but also hollering at each other, brandishing knives, and at some point, Lawrence licks a window with zeal.—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Jack the Ripper roams the streets in search of his next victim.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
-
In a video, Billy Ray roams a large grassy field while listening to the song on his phone.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Awards are both mad and lovely.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
16 Sep. 2025
-
And of course, mad love and respect to Adam Yauch, Oscilloscope’s co-founder, filmmaker and Beastie Boy forever.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The blows come from front, back, and the demonstrator doesn’t seem to hold back even.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Frazier, though, was relentless, seeking a way inside Ali’s reach, driving blows into Ali’s ribs but moving too fast to get caught by the night-ender Ali had planned.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bats. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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