brains 1 of 2

noun

plural of brain
as in intelligence
the ability to learn and understand or to deal with problems you have the brains to figure out that problem on your own

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

brains

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of brain
as in skulls

Related Words

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 brains
Noun
After nine years of breaking defensive coordinators' brains, the 35-year-old Swiss Army knife announced Wednesday that his run with the New Orleans Saints has come to an end. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026 On MRIs, sometimes doctors can see little dots of scar tissue in the brains of people who get migraines. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 30 July 2026 Vigo has spoken of the terrible toll that repeat overdoses take on addicts’ brains, and has advocated for a new policy of mandating treatment for some addicts. — Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026 Normal mice were drawn to the scents—but not mice whose granule cells had been silenced by optical fibers that the researchers implanted in the animals’ brains to switch these cells on and off. — Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 29 July 2026 Leslie Devey said her son had been doing online searches about CTE, which has been found in the brains of many people who played football. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 29 July 2026 All of these actions help build brains that support self-regulation, resilience, literacy and empathy. — Dana Suskind, Md, CNBC, 29 July 2026 But tensions began to surface last year when OpenAI bought a hardware start-up co-founded by Jony Ive, the former chief designer at Apple – and the brains behind the iPhone. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 23 July 2026 The real battleground is over the robot brains, or vision-language-action (VLA) models, which are designed to turn human inputs into embodied AI performing intuitively and accurately. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brains
  1. intelligence
  2. clubs
  3. intellect
  4. saps
  5. sense
  6. spears
  7. reason
  8. brainpower
Noun
  • Computer scientist Vernor Vinge later argued that superhuman intelligence would make the future difficult to model.
    — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • The combination of arrogance and doctored intelligence that led the United States and its allies into the 2003 Iraq War is almost made for Hollywood.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 27 July 2026
Definition of intelligence
Verb
  • That advantage was in large part offset by payments from UEFA’s ‘value pillar’, a mechanism which awards clubs money based upon their coefficient ranking (determined by past performance in European competition) and the size of their nation’s broadcast rights deal for the competition.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 30 May 2026
  • Their top-30 visits, where NFL clubs host prospects at their facilities to gather further intel, are often smokescreens.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Definition of clubs
Noun
  • Temilola Adeoye, a comedian, writer and content creator in New York City,attributes this behavior to shortcomings in intellect and literacy — or to a desire to have one’s intellect validated by others.
    — Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
  • Toni Collette is phenomenal as Christie’s beloved detective, capturing both her sharp intellect and her understanding of human nature.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 July 2026
Definition of intellect
Verb
  • Voisard noted that an eagle’s first flight is a stressful endeavor that saps the bird’s energy.
    — Kris Wernowsky, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
  • But the plot also retains a serial quality that saps momentum and betrays its TV roots.
    — Naveen Kumar, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of saps
Noun
  • In that sense, the conditions included in the Garnacho deal must have a realistic possibility of not occurring in order for the deal to be recorded, at least initially, as a loan.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • With real couples, the sense of love and familiarity was already present.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Definition of sense
Verb
  • The midfielder spears an accurate long ball to Yildiz, setting him away into the box.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Definition of spears
Noun
  • There is no longer a reason to build in room for a counter that may never come.
    — Chris Ryan, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • And the reasons may be rooted as much in Southerners’ attitudes about being overweight as in their diets and exercise patterns.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 30 July 2026
Definition of reason
Noun
  • Save administrative tasks, meetings, and lower-brainpower execution for the peak hours when your mental clarity naturally dips.
    — Nicole F. Roberts, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • The loss of experience and military brainpower had disastrous consequences, especially in Russian lives lost, during the Winter War against Finland and the early stages of World War II against Nazi Germany.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 June 2026
Definition of brainpower

Phrases Containing brains

Browse Nearby Words

brainpower
brains
brainsick
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brains. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on brains

Nglish: Translation of brains for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All