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dependents

noun

plural of dependent
as in parasites

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dependents
  1. parasites
  2. freeloaders
  3. leeches
  4. hangers-on
  5. sponges
  6. sycophants
  7. lackeys
  8. henchmen
Noun
  • The final step is ultraviolet disinfection, which uses high-intensity ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate viruses and parasites, such as giardia.
    — Piper Heath, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The fish, having been medicated by this point, would have weakened immune systems unable to protect them against parasites.
    — John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of parasites
Noun
  • Hookworms are freeloaders that live at the host’s expense inside their gut, drinking about two drops of blood per day.
    — Jay Kakade August 05, Refractor, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The wide-open scam enriched Haitian freeloaders as Bonheur personally netted a million bucks in just two years after Joe Biden rang the dinner bell for every grifter in the Third World.
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 July 2026
Definition of freeloaders
Noun
  • The lightning-fast process leeches out flavor and compromises textures, and can produce bland, mushy results.
    — Emily Saladino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 June 2026
  • The fact is that leeches are relished by everything from walleyes and bass to trout and all the panfish.
    — Byron W. Dalrymple, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2026
Definition of leeches
Noun
  • In late August, the hotel turns into a red-carpet event for celebrities, stars of the silver screen, and various hangers-on at the Venice Film Festival to which the Excelsior is inexorably linked, now enjoying its 10th decade.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The twisted tale involves a cadre of rappers and hangers-on, shootings in separate states, two deaths and various acts of betrayal.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of hangers-on
Noun
  • For more than a century, scientists thought that sponges, or porifera, were the first to branch off — the sister group to all other animals.
    — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 16 Sep. 2026
  • These non-scratch sponges are safe to use on most surfaces and are easy to rinse clean.
    — Brooke Knappenberger, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of sponges
Noun
  • For its sycophants, LIV Golf was a new flavor in the vanilla world of professional golf.
    — Brody Miller, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Our state is under siege by the skilled sycophants who surround the president and use his base desires as cover for their own destructive agendas.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of sycophants
Noun
  • These are perfunctory roles by definition, so lackeys of one kind or another are often favored.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The sculpture included Teddy mounted on a striding horse with two lackeys walking on either side.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026
Definition of lackeys
Noun
  • The last of Lila and Amisha’s henchmen has fled with the remaining supply of poison aerosol, intending to detonate it, on Amisha’s orders, at a nightclub.
    — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026
  • After crash landing on the dark world directly onto the homing beacon, EO and his crazy crew are apprehended by a gang of warrior henchmen and hauled into the throne room to face the wicked alien ruler who is imprisoned in anger and hate.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of henchmen
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.

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dependent
dependents
depending
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Cite this Entry

“Dependents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dependents. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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