BATS Synonyms: 354 Similar and Opposite Words

bats 1 of 3

adjective

ˈbats

Definition of bats

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bats

2 of 3

noun

plural of bat

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

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as in canes

a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment riot policemen armed with bats and tear gas

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bats

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of bat

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

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as in licks

to strike repeatedly batted the piñata until it finally broke open

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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

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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 bats

Noun

Mayflies hovering around our heads were bound to attract bats, and bats creep me out. — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026 Bassitt stymied Boston’s bats early before Story started the sixth-inning rally with a single. — Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026 The setup has afforded Rushing more regular at-bats than initially expected when the Dodgers activated him this week. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 Researchers at the University of Vermont, as part of an international team, have found how bats avoid disease and live long lives. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026 Natural history Diet and behavior Rodents, small rabbits, birds, frogs, lizards, and bats form the primary prey of this species. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026 Most of the time, humans are exposed to the virus from bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 2 Sep. 2026 Showing off import sheets related to bats, seahorses and other creatures, Tlusty illustrated how this works. — John Werner, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 The county had 11 cases in 2025 — six raccoons and five bats — and 14 cases in 2024, including 10 raccoons, a cow, a bat, a cat and a fox. — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2026

Verb

Duran started the year hitting third and now bats seventh or eighth, and his hold on everyday playing time might have been saved by Masataka Yoshida’s injury — at least until Roman Anthony’s return. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 New York catcher Alyssa Zettlemoyer worked with Henley, as did Maggie Foxx, who bats fourth for the Los Angeles Queens. — Marisa Ingemi, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2026 The 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior first baseman not only starts but also bats cleanup for the Wildcats, who have returned to the state semifinals. — Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026 With the light nearly gone — the UMass Dartmouth field doesn’t have lights — Callahan silenced the Raiders bats one more time and this eventually led to the decision to pause the game. — Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 10 June 2026 Schmidt, who bats and throws left, led off the bottom of the seventh with a sharp single to right field. — Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 27 May 2026 Inés has been raised in a world of strange ellipses, and hardly bats an eye when the hotel bartender goes quiet after someone mentions his missing brother, but Hanna (Maia Rae Domagala) is a different story. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 May 2026 Jordan Woolery, who bats behind her at third in the lineup, has 107 RBIs and was the Big Ten Player of the Year. — ABC News, 10 May 2026 Altuve bats fifth For the first time in his career, Altuve started a regular-season game batting in the fifth spot in the lineup. — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bats

Adjective

Prosecutors, on the other hand, have attempted to prove that Clancy was not psychotic and that the killings were deliberate.

— Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Mack testified last Friday and this past Monday that Clancy was not psychotic at the time of the killings and retained her capacity to understand right from wrong and control her behavior.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of psychotic

Noun

Michael Busch and Miguel Amaya each doubled and singled for the Cubs, who finished with 13 hits.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
Reliever Seth Halvorsen gave up three hits without recording an out in the ninth, but the Dodgers had built up enough of a lead to weather a Washington (67-76) comeback attempt.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of hits

Noun

Pruning In winter, when canes are done producing fruit for the season, prune the canes that bore fruit down to the base of the plant so new ones will grow in the spring.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2026
Sales of Cardinal’s consumer healthcare products, such as crutches, canes and its Leader brand of cough drops and other over-the-counter medications, are also reported here.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of canes

Verb

When a headline knocks a stock down, the useful question is whether anything inside the business moved.

— Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Brink is no stranger to the injury bug, as this is just the latest in a series of knocks the Sparks center has taken recently.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of knocks

Verb

That glib self-confidence is present in McNamara, who licks the doughnut glaze off his fingers before offering his hand to the female detective questioning the one living Jason.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Later, a woman protractedly licks blue ice cream from a cone, her attempts thwarted by ferocious gusts of wind and sand.

— Matilda Hague, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of licks

Adjective

Crowder would not have been that mad if the guy had just fessed up and said something normal in his own voice.

— Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
But, as mad as the idea may have seemed back then, the tradition is still going strong 40 years later with participants coming from around the world to cast their dignity aside — along with a warm robe — and take the plunge into the freezing water.

— Rob Tanner, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of mad

Noun

The sales of Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz particularly are big blows.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
The impact of yesterday’s sharp drop in South Korean equities transmitted further into US markets overnight, spreading selling sentiment and dealing heavy blows to US semiconductor and memory stocks.

— , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of blows

Cite this Entry

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“Bats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bats. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of bats

adjective

noun

verb

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