BRUSHES Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

brushes 1 of 3

noun

plural of brush

as in encounters

a brief clash between enemies or rivals the two advance parties had a brush, but no one was wounded

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

brushes

2 of 3

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of brush

as in flows

to move or proceed smoothly and readily a pop star brushing past a crowd of autograph seekers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

brushes

3 of 3

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of brush

as in kisses

to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing spiderwebs brushed her cheek as she walked through the basement

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 brushes

Noun

The case marks the latest legal challenge for Peters, whose internet notoriety crossed into the mainstream after previous brushes with the law. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 How do Japanese hair brushes differ from traditional brushes? — Laura Sandroni, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2026 The brushes retail for $198, and 100 percent of proceeds of each sale go toward research funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. — Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 The group takes historic properties and brushes off the dust to reveal their splendor. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 Steel Wool and Scouring Pads First and foremost, any cleaning expert will tell you to steer clear of common cleaning tools like steel wool, scouring pads, and rough brushes to clean your stainless steel. — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 28 Sep. 2026 The same thing happens with the new textile, as the wearer moves and their skin brushes against it. — New Atlas, 27 Sep. 2026 Garbage bags, like paint brushes, are not food grade material. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026 Even small items like mason jars can be repurposed to hold pens and pencils or makeup brushes, the Salvation Army team says. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 25 Sep. 2026

Verb

After changing into his stage costume, V brushes his teeth and catches RM doing elaborate frog-pose stretches to limber up for the high-energy performance. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2026 There is humiliation here, claustrophobia, physical vulnerability and an intimacy that occasionally brushes against the erotic. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026 Lavrov brushes off German diplomat Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was dismissive after the meeting in New York, which was held at German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s request. — Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026 Vicki brushes it off, and even Shannon can’t defend her friend’s callousness. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026 Fertitta brushes off the scuffle between his president and Meloni. — CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026 During a penumbral eclipse, the moon merely brushes this outer zone and often appears only subtly dimmed. — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Flagrantly practicing an especially ribald strain of cringe comedy that brushes several third rails, often simultaneously, the show could have been a disastrous gambit. — Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Soon after Sally brushes off the comments, her daughters are introduced. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushes

Noun

False The official number of migrant encounters during the Biden administration was 11 million.

— Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
As with Childress, the accumulation of nonthreatening encounters eventually made his job untenable.

— Francisco Cantú, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of encounters

Verb

Given the relatively slow expansion of Europe's domestic tech sector, institutional capital increasingly flows toward US cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence initiatives.

— , CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
The practice is rooted in Qi, a life force that flows through 14 meridians in the body, according to UT MD Anderson.

— Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of flows

Verb

Osment was 29 when her character, Mandy McAllister, first kisses Georgie Cooper, the character played by then-18-year-old Montana Jordan.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Oct. 2026
The impression is of a raucous house party—one in which secrets are spilled, kisses are stolen, and everyone drinks far too much.

— Zing Tsjeng, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of kisses

Verb

The aircraft glides on its long wings while the coasting propeller turns the motor into a generator, feeding about 9 kW back to the battery.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Oct. 2026
When my skin is this smooth and even-toned, my makeup glides without a hitch, without a pill or skip in sight.

— Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of glides

Verb

Seabourn sails the 264-passenger Seabourn Venture and twin Seabourn Pursuit, two lavish all-suite polar-class expedition ships cruising remote itineraries, each with two submarines.

— Janice Wald Henderson, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026
Some of my favorites are coming back too, like El Pulpo Magnifico, Duane Flatmo's fire-breathing octopus, and the Monaco, a 40-foot ship with three masts that sails across dust instead of water.

— Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of sails

Verb

War touches those of us who’ve gone off to war, and our families, too, in many different ways.

— Ron Farina, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
Heather Honey, a senior counselor to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has a portfolio that touches on almost everything the administration does on elections.

— Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of touches

Verb

Rain chances are low — 10% to 25% — as the front drifts southward during the day.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026
Around me, hands reach up timidly and then with more confidence, and then they are accompanied by applause that drifts from one side of the room to the other and back.

— Sam Kestenbaum, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of drifts

Cite this Entry

Style

“Brushes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushes. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of brushes

noun

verb (1)

verb (2)

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

effrontery

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes