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 Cockroach movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … BROKEN COVENANT — Javier Milei blasts UN as 'useless' den of 'fatally arrogant parasites' in raucous speech.
    — , FOXNews.com, 24 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
  • He’s surrounded by hangers-on, speaks with an oblique, affectless wisdom, and is named Harlow (rearrange the letters).
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of hangers-on
Noun
  • While melamine sponges are certainly effective cleaning tools, they are also considered an abrasive material and can leave fine scratches all across your stainless steel appliances.
    — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 28 Sep. 2026
  • While these sponges are perfect for areas like baseboards, walls, and countertops, modern TV screens are not made with the same give.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 22 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
  • For Burr, that his character, in reality, had been replaced by corporate lackeys explains so much of what’s wrong with the world.
    — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026
  • These are perfunctory roles by definition, so lackeys of one kind or another are often favored.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of lackeys
Noun
  • Crosby can… um… provide funny reaction shots when henchmen get killed!
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
  • One of the villain’s henchmen was a small, shaggy blue creature with a long drooping snout and a sour expression that lived in a cigar box.
    — Niranjana Rajalakshmi, Popular Science, 24 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 15 Oct. 2026.

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