BEARS Synonyms: 418 Similar and Opposite Words

bears 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bear

as in has

to bring forth from the womb luckily, she turned out to be able to bear children after all

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as in stands

to put up with (something painful or difficult) I can't bear the thought of losing another loved one

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as in pertains

to have a relation or connection I just found another fact that bears on this issue

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as in heads

to go on a specified course or in a certain direction the road bears left after the second traffic light

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as in carries

to hold up or serve as a foundation for the wooden bridge will only bear one truck at a time

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as in holds

to keep in one's mind or heart I'm not one to bear grudges

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as in behaves

to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way she bore herself well in her first public speaking event

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as in hauls

to support and take from one place to another the rescue team came bearing much-needed food and supplies

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as in shoulders

to take to or upon oneself I bear some responsibility for the mishap

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as in packs

to wear or have on one's person the right to bear arms

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as in leads

to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction the path will bear north after that marked tree

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as in requires

to have as a requirement the violence in that country bears watching if the world wants to avoid a serious international conflict

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as in contains

to have within gold-bearing ore

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as in is

to occupy a place or location a hot, humid air mass is now bearing just south of the Gulf Coast

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as in yields

to produce as revenue an interest-bearing savings account

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bears

2 of 2

noun

plural of bear

as in headaches

a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work the upcoming kitchen renovation sounds like a real bear

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as in crabs

an irritable and complaining person you've been a real bear lately—are you having a bad week?

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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 bears

Verb

This lifelong Black Catholic bears no illusions about the sins of my church. —

Laura Washington, Mercury News, 9 June 2026 Eastern Forest Tick Examined under a microscope, this minuscule parasite bears an uncanny resemblance to your childhood bully, right down to its mullet and Van Halen T-shirt. —

Jay Ruttenberg, New Yorker, 8 June 2026 The international community bears responsibility. —

Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 June 2026 Who bears responsibility for the shooting? —

NPR, 4 June 2026 The art world, with its credentialism, opaque jargon, and tendency to bow to powerful interests, bears a structural resemblance to both politics and academia. —

Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026 When a system's actions fall outside the parameters anyone consciously designed, the question of who bears the cost becomes genuinely contested. —

Samuel Rodrigues, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026 Raphael Sonenshein, who runs the Haynes Foundation, which funds research on governance in Greater Los Angeles, said the contest bears some similarities to 1989, when incumbent Mayor Tom Bradley was running for a fifth and final term. —

Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026 Forecasters have emphasized the Gulf could be problematic early in the season and bears watching. —

Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 1 June 2026

Noun

Three people were killed and 20 more people were attacked by bears across at least nine prefectures between April and June 2, according to public broadcaster NHK. —

Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 9 June 2026 Visitors can marvel at the Mendenhall Glacier, ride the Mount Roberts Tramway and spot bears along Steep Creek. —

Staff, USA Today, 8 June 2026 Now 10 years into the job, she’s tasked with taking care of Bao Li and Qing Bao, the four-year-old bears who made their debut at the National Zoo in 2025. —

Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026 Birds, bears, bobcats, turtles, and salamanders are among the hundreds of animal species that call the woodlands home. —

Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2026 Options range from gummy bears and marshmallow to hot fudge and Rice Krispies. —

Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 6 June 2026 Feeding bears is prohibited by Romanian authorities, and those who do face fines that can run between $2,200 and $6,600, Radio Bulgaria reported. —

David Chiu, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026 SmartSweets helped popularize the category early on with gummy bears that once packed 28 grams of fiber in one bag, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. —

Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026 The terrifying encounter was captured on video and later shared on Instagram by hiker Mason Van Zeeland, who was exploring the Montana park with Alyssa Olsen when the pair crossed paths with the bears. —

Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bears

Verb

Photos from the local information office in General Santos City, which has about 720,000 people, showed convenience stores and buildings crumbling in the aftermath of the quake.

— Kathleen Magramo, CNN Money, 8 June 2026
Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!

— Mark Cooper, New York Times, 8 June 2026