DELVES Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

delves 1 of 2

noun

plural of delve, archaic

as in caverns

a naturally formed underground chamber with an opening to the surface a poem in which a medieval knight encounters a mysterious beauty in a darkened delve

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

delves

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of delve

as in excavates

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for delves

Noun

Discoverers Of Raccoon Mountain Caverns Of course, the caverns pre-date human discovery, but their benefits were being enjoyed even before the caverns were opened.

— Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 4 July 2026
Dragonstone is the windswept ancestral seat of House Targaryen, but the Black Queen did not grow up playing among its dusky caverns.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 June 2026

Definition of caverns

Verb

Badger excavates or exposes buried infrastructure through a highly pressurized water and vacuum system and uses about 20,000 gallons of water per day, officials have said.

— Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
Her series are inevitably female-centric and like the Brontës, who wrote 200 years and a few miles away, her work excavates the drama of daily life and the tension between good and evil that sings below any surface.

— Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2026

Definition of excavates

Noun

Boats depart from here for island tours, including to the famous Blue Grotto and other smaller grottoes and coves.

— Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 2026
For Reykjavik native Gulla Jónsdóttir, the Aurora Borealis phenomena, molten-red erupting volcanoes, black sand shores and hot water grottoes were part of everyday life growing up.

— Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 8 May 2026

Definition of grottoes

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.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Delves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delves. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of delves

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on delves

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

implacable

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes