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
His resulting exploration tracks the ways in which Black residents were effectively segregated, through racial covenants and redlining, and overpoliced. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for covenants
Noun
  • Before Screen Scotland, Davis spent seven years as the BFI’s head of international, helping broker the organization’s co-production treaties with China and Brazil.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 July 2026
  • Instead, Koenigsberg said the treaties largely eliminate that outcome.
    Joshua Hong, Fortune, 23 July 2026
Noun
  • Other players with expiring contracts who could command interest include slugger Starling Marte and reliever John Schreiber.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The recurring fuel and service operations can be assessed through margins, contracts, customer retention, and cash conversion.
    Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Reddit cheers; SerpApi prepares to fight If Reddit wins the fight, the popular online discussion forum could be in a better position to force all AI scrapers to enter into licensing agreements.
    Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
  • France’s film industry also negotiated separate agreements with individual streamers governing both their cinema investment commitments and their place in the country’s windowing system.
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 31 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
  • The new hub will reportedly be built around the next generation of Siri, which promises a much smarter assistant capable of understanding personal context, accessing information across Apple devices, and carrying out more complex tasks.
    Paul Lamkin, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Perhaps the most lavish example of innovation in the architecture of culture is Jean Nouvel’s new Fondation Cartier in Paris, a museum that promises to reinvent itself completely for every show.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 29 July 2026
Noun
  • In such a scenario that is appearing highly likely, many clean energy pacts and pledges may well be broken by major tech brands out of necessity.
    Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • But that framework would be governed by the two countries themselves, instead of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which conventionally oversees nuclear pacts.
    Chris Boccia, ABC News, 22 July 2026
Noun
  • The former Georgia senator and successful businesswoman, has led the SBA since 2025, overseeing federal loan guarantees and assistance programs for millions of small businesses.
    Luke Fountain, CNBC, 30 July 2026
  • Specifically, Apple reportedly wants guarantees that Washington won’t add CXMT to its Entity List, which would impose licensing requirements on working with the company.
    Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 29 July 2026
Noun
  • But for me, if you are taken out of the set of conventions that usually inform your choices, that is a reward in itself.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026
  • The Chantels were pioneers sometimes trapped in the conventions of the era.
    ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Covenants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/covenants. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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