as in tendency
a habitual attraction to some activity or thing
left to her own devices she'd eat at a fast-food restaurant every night of the week
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 devices
Sometimes the batteries on the trackers would run low, and McGovern’s team would need to remove and recharge the devices, before surreptitiously replacing them.
—
Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026
In 2021, a critical vulnerability in Log4j—a logging library maintained by a handful of volunteers—exposed hundreds of millions of devices.
—Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
New York parents are asking for ChatGPT limits in schools, while Utah last month passed a law to let parents monitor their kids’ screen time on school devices.
—Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 30 Apr. 2026
More recent reports suggest that Apple teams once dedicated to the headset are now moving away from it to focus on other devices.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Apr. 2026
Other options, such as red light therapy caps, are non-invasive devices that use low-level light therapy to stimulate hair follicles and increase density.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
At one point, the FIFA stream for those watching remotely appeared to freeze, including for multiple reporters from The Athletic watching on different devices in different parts of the world.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
The borough is seeing more incidents locally involving those devices – including those leading to crashes and injuries, the post said.
—Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Publicly released exploit code for an effectively unpatched vulnerability that gives root access to virtually all releases of Linux is setting off alarm bells as defenders scramble to ward off severe compromises inside data centers and on personal devices.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026
Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026
In 2021, a critical vulnerability in Log4j—a logging library maintained by a handful of volunteers—exposed hundreds of millions of devices.
—Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
New York parents are asking for ChatGPT limits in schools, while Utah last month passed a law to let parents monitor their kids’ screen time on school devices.
—Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 30 Apr. 2026
More recent reports suggest that Apple teams once dedicated to the headset are now moving away from it to focus on other devices.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Apr. 2026
Other options, such as red light therapy caps, are non-invasive devices that use low-level light therapy to stimulate hair follicles and increase density.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
At one point, the FIFA stream for those watching remotely appeared to freeze, including for multiple reporters from The Athletic watching on different devices in different parts of the world.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
The borough is seeing more incidents locally involving those devices – including those leading to crashes and injuries, the post said.
—Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Publicly released exploit code for an effectively unpatched vulnerability that gives root access to virtually all releases of Linux is setting off alarm bells as defenders scramble to ward off severe compromises inside data centers and on personal devices.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devices
Noun
-
There's generally a tendency for organizations to focus too much on measuring or tracking input or activity, as opposed to output.—
Kristina Rex,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
His playoff history and tendency to let up weak goals do raise some red flags.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Learning about her aptitude for difficult conversations, a counselor directed her toward social work instead.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
-
Murray-Boyles separates himself with his defensive aptitude, though.—
Eric Koreen,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The inclination is not to pay, according to Alisha Rayner, the city’s director of operations and communications.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The 11 satellites on board are flying to a mid-inclination orbit.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His early work with the Heartbreakers had an affinity with the more cutting-edge sounds of punk and new wave; the term pop punk probably comes from the New York Times critic John Rockwell’s write-up of a Petty performance at the Bottom Line in 1977.—
Jack Hamilton,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
-
When Tezzus met diamond* in 2020, their affinity for music (and weed) kept them close, moving together as a unit.—
Oba Awolowo,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the greater public, a dangerous, inchoate rage directed at Barack Obama persists alongside the widespread affection for him.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The reunion at the festival served as a reminder of just how much affection remains for the film all these years later.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
The situation stems from the commendable liberal impulse to devote extensive resources to public education.—
Marc Novicoff,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Because at its core, this legal drama that revolves around artificial intelligence is actually rooted in the very human impulses of kinship, greed, betrayal, and power.—
Tom Dotan,
Vanity Fair,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Every one of those cases, there's an indictment and then eventually there is a trial or some sort of disposition.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
3 May 2026
-
The report and final disposition memos were released by the Sheriff’s Office this week.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Devices.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devices. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
