BELLWETHER Synonyms: 17 Similar and Opposite Words

bellwether

noun

ˈbel-ˈwe-t͟hər

as in leader

one that takes the lead or sets an example the state has a long history of being an early and reliable bellwether in presidential elections

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of bellwether Our hypothetical ambitious fifteen-year-old is exceptional, of course, and certainly not the bellwether for today’s disaffection about higher education. —

Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 5 May 2026 And his future, a raging battle between the state courts and the NCAA, will be a bellwether for all college sports. —

Bomani Jones, Vanity Fair, 29 Apr. 2026 Earnings from India’s bellwether software services exporters have reinforced investor concerns about the sector’s growth prospects, signaling that the downturn in their stocks has further to run. —

Ashutosh Joshi, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026 Zak Hudak Bucks County is often considered a bellwether area politically. —

Zak Hudak, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bellwether

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellwether

Noun

The detentions come after a handful of other arrests months earlier, but Fúnez has long been pinpointed by local environmental and religious leaders as the man who spearheaded the assassination.

— Marlon González, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Unlike other Western leaders—and the foreign-policy establishment in Washington—Sánchez sees China in more pragmatic terms rather than as necessarily a strategic rival.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 13 May 2026