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
The General Assembly passed one of Matos' bills to ban new restrictive covenants for grocery stores, a practice that has limited the ability of new grocery stores to open in many spaces. Wheeler Cowperthwaite, The Providence Journal, 10 Sep. 2026 The school also reclassified some restricted funds to satisfy bond covenants. Bloomberg, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026 Interim operating covenants laid out in the merger agreement allow for WBD to run itself as an independent entity while the deal moves toward closing. Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026 This structure lets legal, financial and commercial advisors concentrate effort on issues that influence transaction architecture, particularly those requiring adjustments to representations, covenants or indemnification constructs. Keegan Caldwell, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Each temple is considered a house of the Lord, where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through sacred ordinances, learning about life’s purpose and making covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve others. Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Aug. 2026 As restrictive racial covenants to limit who could own property spread over the East Bay, more than 1,400 Black and Latino residents found a haven on the other side of the Union Pacific railroad tracks west of downtown Hayward. Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026 Bailey’s order also placed an injunction prohibiting Attard from leasing the house and, because affordability covenants eventually expire, the judge demanded the clock reset to account for the three years Welcome to Realty had owned the house. Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2026 Those rules – codes, covenants and restrictions, known collectively as CCRs – are often created by developers, who initially control the HOA. Daniel Kramer, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for covenants
Noun
  • This is not, currently, an option for American productions which don’t have the mechanism, treaties, or federal tax incentive required for the lift.
    Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026
  • King managed to take the suffocating history of the Indian — the treaties, the massacres, the Hollywood caricatures — and turn it into something conversational, even funny.
    Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Oak Park and Evanston have decided to end their Flock contracts.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Mayor Castillo told the Sun Sentinel on Friday that any financial implications for residents and whether the city will terminate its current contracts remain unclear.
    Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The threat of being charged by the federal government can lead witnesses to negotiate agreements with prosecutors to share evidence or testimony used to incriminate others in exchange for immunity or lighter punishments.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Fortum has previously said that new nuclear projects would require strong customer demand secured through long-term power purchase agreements, strategic partners, appropriate financing and risk-sharing arrangements.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 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
  • Its new Health Sensing System promises improved accuracy for higher-frequency heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements.
    Mike Snider, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Apple promises the phone, which has the same A20 Pro chip as the new flat phones, will still offer solid battery life.
    Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The financials are also unmatched, with last year’s annual check to each franchise from 345 Park Ave topping $450 million from leaguewide deals, primarily driven by the NFL’s $125 billion in media pacts.
    Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • NBCUniversal‘s Peacock launched a limited new membership program in a beta test with a variety of perks — aimed at keeping them from flying the coop as streaming subscribers, as well as driving incremental revenue from marketing pacts.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Turner was thought to be the most likely (and most expensive) in a skyrocketing cornerback market that saw the latest agreement with New England’s Christian Gonzalez on Tuesday for four years, $135 million and $102 million in guarantees.
    Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • But there are no guarantees, as the bankruptcy court prepares to approve this unusual sale.
    Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Democrats have held such midterm conventions in the past but are not doing so this year.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Political parties typically do not hold conventions for midterm elections as there is no presidential candidate to select.
    Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Covenants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/covenants. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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