followers

noun

plural of follower
1
as in adherents
one who follows the opinions or teachings of another the followers of Gandhi have spread his philosophy of nonviolence all over the world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imitators
a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way Brando's Method acting inspired a whole generation of mumbling followers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 followers Gastélum posted similar content on his Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube accounts, which together had more than 1 million followers. — Rey Rodríguez, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026 Opening weekend audience are looking like a mix of under 35, A24 loyalists, followers of Matt Johnson and fans of Bourdain. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026 The exposé got more than 116,000 clicks, nearly triple his normal view count, in less than a month and has quickly spread across social media, where influencers discuss Andert’s findings with their thousands of followers. — Oren Peleg, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026 The monk-to-entrepreneur pipeline has shocked some of his fans and followers who say making $21 million a year is antithetical to a monk lifestyle. — Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 The Queen had been in a classroom, where she and her 15 followers were repeatedly told to come out with their hands up. — Zander Sherman, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026 Among her followers was one of the defendants in Rosenzweig’s healthcare-fraud case, according to his lawsuit. — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026 Runrun maintained a following of over 366,000 followers on Instagram, where she was known for sharing her dives, ocean advocacy and other lifestyle content. — Luke Chinman, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for followers
  1. adherents
  2. imitators
  3. disciples
  4. echoes
Noun
  • In turn, schools like the Forge birthed a new military archetype, whose adherents were often privileged, scrappy, and damaged—just as Holden Caulfield was.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Modi’s father, Deepak Modi, established his own diamond business in Antwerp, where the Palanpuri Jains, adherents of the Jain faith, helped reshape the industry.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of adherents
Noun
  • Boards can adopt it, investors can ask for it, cities can condition incentives on it, and the companies with the best results have the most to gain from standards, because standards are how leaders get distinguished from imitators.
    — Tonya M. Evans, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • But the arrival of Buc-ee's supercharged the trend and spawned imitators like Wally's, which has three 50,000-square-foot locations in the Midwest, with plans for more.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 2 July 2026
Definition of imitators
Noun
  • Ganni disciples might pair a leopard print dresses with chunky sneakers, or puff-sleeve blouses with track pants—both formulas that helped cement it as one of the leading forces behind CPHFW’s street style.
    — Kelsey Stewart, InStyle, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Almost a century after the overthrow of the goddess Akaso and her kinfolk of local deities by the arrival of white missionaries, their disciples were stepping up to root out what was left.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of disciples
Noun
  • Denis sees echoes of that survival strategy in the behavior of Haitians in South Florida and elsewhere across the United States, where many have withdrawn from public view.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The tit-for-tat brings up echoes of last year, when the rivals were locked in a blistering trade war.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of echoes

Browse Nearby Words

follower
followers
followership
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Followers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/followers. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on followers

Nglish: Translation of followers for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of salvo

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All