FOLLOWS Synonyms: 171 Similar and Opposite Words

follows

verb

present tense third-person singular of follow

as in replaces

to come after in time a wrap-up always follows the Super Bowl broadcast

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pursues

to go after or on the track of let's follow the boys to their hiding place

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in obeys

to act according to the commands of follow me, and you'll do OK

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in traverses

to make one's way through, across, or over followed the path into the garden

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in notes

to take notice of and be guided by don't follow his advice

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in observes

to keep one's eyes on stood on the platform and followed the departing train until it disappeared from sight

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

winks
blinks

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 follows The story follows two middle-aged people revisiting a relationship from more than two decades earlier, exploring regret and the possibility of moving on. — Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 8 Nov. 2026 For the Omaha Beach landing and the war that follows, Kaminski set out to make combat look like frontline footage rather than a Hollywood spectacle. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Nov. 2026 The canvassing review follows questions raised by Locklin on Wednesday, after her vote count briefly surged before dropping on election night. — Joan Murray, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2026 The movie follows Hoffman's character, Benjamin, a recent college graduate who is struggling to find direction post graduation and is seduced by an older housewife and friend of his parents. — Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026 Set in 1986 Queens, NY, the film follows two brothers who become entangled in a scheme that ends up involving the Russian mafia. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2026 The festival follows the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in late October or early November. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026 The humanoid project follows Meta’s acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence, a company specializing in robot learning and artificial intelligence. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026 The opening follows a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday that marked the completion of new trails, parking and visitor facilities. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 1 Nov. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for follows

Verb

Bennett, a Mesa, Arizona native, replaces Bobby Hurley who coached the Sun Devils for 11 seasons.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026
The series replaces the Purdue series for Notre Dame and the Missouri series for Illinois.

— Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of replaces

Verb

The funding would also support faculty positions as the university pursues Carnegie Research 1 university status, Hahn said.

— Harllie Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 30 Oct. 2026
While Hancock County School District pursues civil action, the Justice Department’s probe into athletic equipment sales remains ongoing.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of pursues

Verb

Because light obeys a superposition principle even under classical physics, this experimental breakthrough doesn’t imply that Schrödinger’s equation necessarily applies to objects 12,900 kilometers wide.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
It must be completely replaced with an agency that obeys the law and the Constitution.

— WCCO Staff, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of obeys

Verb

And Wheeler stuck to his principles with this list, one that mostly traverses North Oak Trafficway as cheaply (and deliciously) as possible.

— Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026
In just over eight hours, the train traverses Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, beginning with the towns of Naperville, Princeton, and Galesburg, Illinois.

— Lauren Dana Ellman, Midwest Living, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of traverses

Verb

My husband, a bookseller, often notes that most books are bad, and this may be doubly true for children’s books, whose brevity leads foolhardy would-be authors to underestimate the difficulty of their task.

— Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
The easy chemistry translates into the competition itself, where Levine notes that the four coaches are all fiercely competitive, but without the kind of animosity that can sometimes come with fighting over artists.

— Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of notes

Verb

Their quest leads to Berkeley, where the PSA trio observes a gathering of the milquetoast organization Research on Artificial Intelligence for Machines.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Elias Law Group are on the ground while Colom’s campaign observes the count across the state, according to a person familiar with the effort.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of observes

Verb

Feingold succeeds David Jefferson, Executive Vice President, Communications, who has accepted the company’s voluntary early retirement offer after 15 years with Disney.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2026
In reality, state intervention in markets can depress overall productivity and workers can see flat wages even when China succeeds at promoting advanced industries.

— Oliver Melton, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2026