1
as in articles
a short piece of writing typically expressing a point of view
school essays on what it means to be a patriot
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2
3
as in tests
a procedure or operation carried out to resolve an uncertainty
a little homemade essay to determine the easiest way to strip the paint from the bookcase
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as in tries
to make an effort to do
he had been in gymnastics for some time before he even considered essaying that move
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Recent Examples of essays
Quanta Magazine, 13 Feb. 2026
His passion for the medium and its great artists illuminates this volume, which is shaped around a list of 100 Black films contextualized in a series of critical short essays by Clark, providing a lively and robust history of global Black filmmaking.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Hoffman’s essays and criticism have appeared in the Nation, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the TLS, Raritan, Bookforum, the Boston Globe, New York Newsday, Tin House, and on the World Service of the BBC.
—Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026
For this year’s installment, Vogue partnered with the publisher 831 Stories on a collection of essays and excerpts celebrating the art of romantic fiction.
—Alexandra Romanoff, Vogue, 10 Feb. 2026
The book will also include a science fiction story by Cao, and a series of interviews and essays featuring scholars, curators, experts, including ones from the XAG team, and farmers.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 10 Feb. 2026
Within those two groups are several subcategories, including poetry, personal essays, comic art, mixed media and photography.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected Letters to the Editor received in response to them.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 7 Feb. 2026
Amodei, known for writing lengthy essays about AI’s nature and direction, has portrayed Anthropic as being the AI company focused on safety.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Noun
In these essays, our columnists follow their curiosity, and explore important but not necessarily answerable scientific questions.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Feb. 2026
His passion for the medium and its great artists illuminates this volume, which is shaped around a list of 100 Black films contextualized in a series of critical short essays by Clark, providing a lively and robust history of global Black filmmaking.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Hoffman’s essays and criticism have appeared in the Nation, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the TLS, Raritan, Bookforum, the Boston Globe, New York Newsday, Tin House, and on the World Service of the BBC.
—Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026
For this year’s installment, Vogue partnered with the publisher 831 Stories on a collection of essays and excerpts celebrating the art of romantic fiction.
—Alexandra Romanoff, Vogue, 10 Feb. 2026
The book will also include a science fiction story by Cao, and a series of interviews and essays featuring scholars, curators, experts, including ones from the XAG team, and farmers.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 10 Feb. 2026
Within those two groups are several subcategories, including poetry, personal essays, comic art, mixed media and photography.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected Letters to the Editor received in response to them.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 7 Feb. 2026
Amodei, known for writing lengthy essays about AI’s nature and direction, has portrayed Anthropic as being the AI company focused on safety.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Verb
In the film, Bajpayee plays the police officer while Jim Sarbh essays the role of the killer who goes by the fictional name Carl Bhojraj.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for essays
Noun
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Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
-
From newspaper articles and photographs to detailed life timelines, Ancestry is incredibly thorough.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Dons went to the charity stripe 35 times to 18 free throw attempts for USD.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
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There have been a few attempts over the years to update Wuthering Heights into hip-to-the-moment, teen-friendly versions.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The new sunscreen achieved an SPF rating of 30 and – without the clumping particles – was visibly less whiter, as confirmed by an array of color science metric tests the team conducted.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Matrix has already completed successful flight tests near Shanghai, bringing real size and real ambition to an industry still dominated by small prototypes.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While people tag her in dozens of videos every day, Humphrey tries to pick recreations that are authentic moments caught on camera.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
In this video, CNN’s Richard Quest tries his hand at funge for the very first time.—
Maureen Ohare,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Choose from 21 colors, from goes-with-everything black to standout prints and textures, including holiday-ready velvet or sequins.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Jan. 2026
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Meanwhile, Weaver reminded us of the coat’s versatility while wearing a goes-with-everything matte black version.—
Shea Simmons,
PEOPLE,
27 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Prisoners endured frequent selections, some by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, known for his gruesome experiments on camp inmates.—
Lesley Stahl,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
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The crew will spend eight months conducting experiments to prepare for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sweeney plays Undine Spragg, a fiercely ambitious woman from the Midwest, who strives for the social heights of turn of the century New York.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
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The Bureau strives to complete all 311 requests within five days.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The main framework for space governance, the Outer Space Treaty, was formulated in 1967 during a Cold War era in which there were just a few state actors active in space, minimal space traffic and no private endeavors.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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The first of these payments was made to fund da Silva’s alternative medicine endeavors, with recurring payments of multiple thousands of dollars afterward.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Essays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/essays. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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