as in supporters
someone associated with another to give assistance or moral support
a child-welfare cause that has made bedfellows of activists who are normally on opposite ends of the political spectrum
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 bedfellows
But Anderson knows that, amid clashing political extremes, racial and ideological purists can make surprising, and treacherous, bedfellows.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
Farmer livelihood at risk of 'withering away' Hoosier farmers and Chinese importers may make for strange bedfellows, but the simple mechanics of supply and demand have the two entangled financially.
—Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 26 Sep. 2025
More importantly, the film shows how extreme ideologies create strange bedfellows, which Baranov uses to his advantage, funding underground biker militias and esoteric religious headbangers alike as ballast to prop up Putin’s hardline rule.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025
Seemingly strange bedfellows are making the case to protect public lands from auction.
—Joanna Allhands, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025
But while the vehicles in this context are meant to be destroyed, the Air Force seeking out the Tesla brand is just another example of how Big Tech and the Department of Defense have become unlikely bedfellows, one defense spending expert said.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
Farmer livelihood at risk of 'withering away' Hoosier farmers and Chinese importers may make for strange bedfellows, but the simple mechanics of supply and demand have the two entangled financially.
—Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 26 Sep. 2025
More importantly, the film shows how extreme ideologies create strange bedfellows, which Baranov uses to his advantage, funding underground biker militias and esoteric religious headbangers alike as ballast to prop up Putin’s hardline rule.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025
Seemingly strange bedfellows are making the case to protect public lands from auction.
—Joanna Allhands, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025
But while the vehicles in this context are meant to be destroyed, the Air Force seeking out the Tesla brand is just another example of how Big Tech and the Department of Defense have become unlikely bedfellows, one defense spending expert said.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedfellows
Noun
-
The chorus of boos at the final whistle showed what supporters made of it.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Back in the 1920s, even the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin called on his British supporters to affiliate with the Labour Party instead of fighting it.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Money was flowing in, as the US and its allies attempted to rebuild civil society destroyed by the Taliban’s brutal rule from 1996 to 2001, even as fighting and insecurity still plagued swathes of the nation.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
-
That reputation attracts opportunities, allies, and trust.—
Sinéad O'Sullivan,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bedfellows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedfellows. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share