doves

noun

plural of dove
1
as in pacifists
a person who opposes war or warlike policies the doves were in favor of using the surplus to improve the nation's schools and not its weapons systems

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in angels
an innocent or gentle person he's a dove who wouldn't hurt a fly

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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 doves The memorial, which features sculptures of an angel and bronze doves, is located in a cemetery that is also home to the world’s largest Catholic mausoleum. — Luis Andres Henao, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 Lizzie’s desire to kill her parents is inflamed, for example, by Abby (Rebecca Hall) killing her beloved doves. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026 Monster depicts Lizzie keeping a great number of doves as her dear pets, housing them in an elaborate coop out back. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026 The outlet added that doves were released outside the church before guests moved inside for the ceremony. — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026 The Lizzie Borden Story lifts Abby out of mythological passivity and puts her at the center of events, perhaps most significantly by having her kill Lizzie’s pet doves. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 The 5% benchmark While debt hawks and doves might debate the importance of the 5% threshold being hit, UBS’s Paul Donovan points out that the number actually means very little in a real economic sense. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026 Unlike quail or pheasants, doves won't run ahead of a hunter wading through vegetation. — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026 Everyone likes to eat the doves, but wood pigeons are the real treat. — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doves
  1. pacifists
  2. angels
  3. innocents
  4. sheep
  5. lambs
Noun
  • However, it was criticized by pacifists at home and China for deviating from Japan’s postwar self-defense only principle.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • All voiceover in the film is detached from the images, from a mixture of unidentified community folk who are content to speak anonymously, and neighboring outsiders perplexed by these out-of-time pacifists.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Definition of pacifists
Noun
  • Men are not angels, and neither are the people spending your money.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2026
  • His garment is sunlit and he is surrounded by blue sky populated with angels and saints who seem to be in movement, floating on the breezes of the high mountain air.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of angels
Noun
  • Chris regards his role in the deaths and disappearances of thousands of innocents with a weary shrug—and, on rare dark nights of the soul, a piddling note of regret.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The novel’s interest lies in the innocents on both sides of the divide, in the question of how to repair and understand one another.
    — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of innocents
Noun
  • Thankfully, Diana had two of the sheep knits made — and Plant got her hands on the second one.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026
  • There is no room for Joseph, who is sitting on the floor leaning his back against the bed, watching the sheep and being ironically observed by a donkey.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of sheep
Noun
  • By the third episode, murderous Jason begins to more prominently feature in episodes, and the gory deaths begin, as a swarm of innocent hippies ignore warnings and are drawn into the camp, like lambs to the slaughter.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Livestock Birthing Barn celebrated more than 90 animal births of piglets, goats, calves, lambs and chicks.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of lambs

Browse Nearby Words

dovecotes
doves
dovetail
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Cite this Entry

“Doves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doves. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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