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foundations

noun

plural of foundation
1
as in institutions
a public organization with a particular purpose or function donated to a foundation that supported cancer research

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in cornerstones
an immaterial thing upon which something else rests she had a good enough foundation in math to pursue an economics degree

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 foundations When finance leaders take ownership of selecting AI tools and building the process foundations that support them, adoption can make it past the experimentation phase. — John Gronen, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026 Liu’s Met commission, with its disembodied hands, its severing and suturing of the organic and the mechanical, may be a metaphor for a civilization detached from its foundations and coming to its end. — Lavender Au, ARTnews.com, 21 Sep. 2026 The nation, of course, once ruled the ancient world and its past has contributed to the foundations of modern culture. — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026 An investigation led by University of Arizona researchers has now found evidence of a genetic domino effect that lays the foundations for carcinomas to form, making the loss of the Y chromosome a new hallmark of pending cancer. — Mike McRae 20, New Atlas, 21 Sep. 2026 Stephen Colbert doesn’t think the foundations of America have been shaken by the cancellation of The Late Show. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026 Those resilient foundations, and that never-say-die mentality, feel badly shaken. — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 Interventions can include removing trees and vegetation or constructing barriers to isolate their roots from the house’s foundations and, at the more extreme and expensive end, underpinning the house by pumping concrete beneath the foundations. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foundations
  1. institutions
  2. cornerstones
  3. institutes
  4. bases
  5. groups
  6. bedrocks
  7. grounds
Noun
  • The looming question is whether European leaders, institutions, and citizens can pivot swiftly enough so that the bloc can use its economic heft to take responsibility for its own security.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Inside the 300,000-square-foot building are more than 1,300 works on view at opening, drawn from the museum’s permanent collection — built largely from Lucas’ decades of collecting — as well as loans from other institutions and private collections.
    — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of institutions
Noun
  • In the 1950s and 1960s, suburban malls were explicitly designed as community cornerstones, complete with bustling food courts, movie theaters, arcades, and a smorgasbord of shops.
    — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Released 20 years ago this week, the horror novel by Max Brooks quickly became one of the undisputed cornerstones of walking dead canon.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of cornerstones
Noun
  • Rival Samsung Electronics collaborates with institutes such as Yonsei University, the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, as well as the Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology.
    — Lim Hui Jie,Miko Jang, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Countries typically built these large-scale computers at their national institutes to make scientific breakthroughs and attain economic leadership, while also deploying them for national security measures.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of institutes
Noun
  • Although Turkey maintains several bases in northern Iraq for operations against the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the Bashiqa camp is Turkey's furthest base from its border.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • His 40 steals are a career high after swiping 35 bases last year.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of bases
Noun
  • Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, an amicus brief was filed by other news groups, urging the court to immediately restore the three outlets' White House access.
    — JOCELYN NOVECK, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The two groups are already collaborating on projects with the goal of building a slate of projects that are connected with brand partners from the very start.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of groups
Noun
  • The costs of health insurance are pushing small businesses — beloved by politicians and the bedrocks of entire communities — to a financial cliff.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 7 July 2026
  • Hillary Rodham Clinton also reflect on the bedrocks of our democracy, including the Electoral College and the peaceful transfer of power.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 24 June 2026
Definition of bedrocks
Noun
  • It was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane on airport grounds, where German police safely defused the device.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Six decades earlier, on the same grounds, a young Muhammad Ali absorbed a famous left hook from Henry Cooper late in the fourth round, then finished the fight in the fifth when the referee stopped it because of a severe cut over Cooper’s eye.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of grounds

Browse Nearby Words

foundationless
foundations
founded
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Cite this Entry

“Foundations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foundations. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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