covenants 1 of 2

plural of covenant
1
as in treaties
a formal agreement between two or more nations or peoples the two countries signed a peace covenant that, it was hoped, would put an end to decades of bitter conflict

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2
3

covenants

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of covenant
1
as in bargains
to come to an arrangement as to a course of action a traditional rule held that a husband could not enter into a covenant with his wife, because that was the equivalent of covenanting with himself

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2
as in promises
to make a solemn declaration of intent the home buyers had to covenant that they would restore and keep the house for at least 10 years in exchange for a low mortgage rate

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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 covenants
Noun
Equity investors can absorb large losses without pulling the banking system into trouble, but credit adds lenders, covenants, collateral values, refinancing dates and off balance sheet structures. Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Your book deals with a piece of legislation called the Rumford Act that would tear down the city’s racist racial housing covenants in 1963, but the act in ’62 had enemies in high places, namely Mayor Sam Yorty and his power base. Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2026 San Jose Spotlight reported in 2024 that Los Gatos had about 130 racially restrictive covenants, which is racist language in property deeds that explicitly prevented homes from being sold to people of color. Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 17 June 2026 That contrasts with Cherry Hills Village, Bow Mar and Columbine Valley, where strict covenants block the development of attached housing. Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 17 June 2026 Like some other suburbs at the time, restrictive covenants kept minorities out. Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 June 2026 The eight units are to be identified as affordable in the project’s covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). Jim Drummond, Oc Register, 4 June 2026 The exhibit highlighted racially restrictive covenants, which didn’t allow communities of color to buy, own, use or rent properties often in suburban neighborhoods, including some in Johnson County. Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 2 June 2026 Washington County has fewer racial covenants compared to other counties, largely because major residential development took place after the Fair Housing Act was enacted, said Tom Hauer, the division manager of the county’s property records and taxpayer services department. Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 2 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for covenants
Noun
  • While Switzerland is not a European Union member, it is deeply integrated into the European single market via a network of bilateral treaties.
    Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 13 July 2026
  • That pattern has held since the Revolutionary War, from the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II to today’s active-duty ranks, even as Native nations endured broken treaties, dispossession and federal violence at the hands of the government.
    Kerri J. Malloy, The Conversation, 9 July 2026
Noun
  • In practice, governments still want contracts, jobs, and tax revenue at home.
    Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 6 July 2026
  • All three finished their entry-level contracts, but Gauthier is ineligible to receive an offer sheet.
    Eric Stephens, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Noun
  • That created an opening for Samsung Electronics and Micron to accelerate investment in competing products while securing their own supply agreements with hyperscalers seeking to diversify AI chip supply chains.
    Lee Ying Shan,Jenny Lee, CNBC, 10 July 2026
  • Violence flared and subsided periodically, and Lebanon and Israel reached ceasefire agreements in 1993, 1996 and after a 2006 war.
    Anthony Wanis-St John, The Conversation, 10 July 2026
Verb
  • The union usually bargains in the same year as performers’ union SAG-AFTRA and directors’ union the Directors Guild of America.
    Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 6 Apr. 2026
  • One potential—though untested—workaround would be for conferences, which are private entities, to serve as a joint employer that bargains with a players’ union.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • For scientists, the milestone promises the enticing potential of unlocking secrets of the universe that have long remained elusive.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Now artificial intelligence promises to automate, augment, or dramatically reduce the need for many of the same tasks.
    Joseph Andrew, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Noun
  • Australia, Japan and New Zealand condemned the launch into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, as regional governments sign new defense pacts and warn China’s opaque militarization is destabilizing Pacific security.
    Huizhong Wu, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • Finney-Smith’s arrival leaves Charlotte with 17 players on standard pacts and when factoring the utilization of the maximum of three two-way contract slots into account when they are officially filled, that pushes the Hornets up to 20.
    Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 3 July 2026
Noun
  • There are no guarantees in life, but that hasn’t stopped mankind from consistently searching for some semblance of security.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
  • Anyone who claims that government ownership of corporate equity guarantees failure has to explain them.
    James Broughel, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Noun
  • Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, The Ides of March, and Suburbicon are examples of films that are refined, ambitious, and outside the rules and conventions of Hollywood cinema.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 July 2026
  • Beltran regularly appears at Star Trek conventions and used to get in fights on Twitter.
    Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 4 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Covenants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/covenants. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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