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friends 1 of 2

noun

plural of friend
1
as in buddies
a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another really close friends who like to do everything together and are always sharing secrets

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in supporters
a person who actively supports or favors a cause hopes that the new governor will be a friend to environmental causes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

friends

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of friend
as in associates

Related Words

Dissimilar 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 friends
Noun
But recounting each group’s beginning and remembering many wonderful friends who have passed away were also important to those gathered. — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026 Also very modern-seeming are the complex emotional relationships Perry describes between spouses, parents and their children, siblings or friends from different cultures or societies. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026 Consensus is overrated Chang likes to argue — with friends, over food. — Marnie Hunter, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026 Baxter told me—the other mother was close friends with her own sister. — Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026 Haim and her sisters are longtime friends of Swift’s and have collaborated on various musical projects. — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026 The Moon opposes powerful Pluto, creating tension between your creative instincts and the opinions of friends, coworkers, or a larger group. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026 The only thing that set her aside was that her family was Mormon, but her friends didn’t judge. — Jesús Rodríguez, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026 The other military assets involved are our friends and allies in the region. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for friends
  1. buddies
  2. supporters
  3. associates
  4. colleagues
  5. proponents
  6. befriends
  7. confidants
  8. advocates
Noun
  • Rosé lives the California dream, as her buddies drop into empty swimming pools on skateboards, bounce on mattresses and get up to good, clean fun.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The two meet cute at a deeply awful Toronto nightclub; Emma is trying to feel young and free, while Raiff’s character, an old soul in a twenty-something body, is taken by the somewhat older woman who is much more fun than his drunk buddies.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of buddies
Noun
  • Some of the nations attending the meeting in western Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, such as Poland and Romania, have been staunch supporters of Ukraine.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The case drew national attention and became racially charged, with supporters of Anthony criticizing the lack of Black jurors and calling for his acquittal, while supporters of the Metcalf family gathered outside the courthouse seeking justice.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of supporters
Verb
  • The Shiji associates Sun Tzu with Wu’s campaigns against its powerful rival Chu, including the campaign that culminated in the capture of the Chu capital, Ying, in 506 bce.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
  • What being Southern meant to his father—and the values Duane associates with being a Southern gentleman.
    — Sid Evans, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of associates
Noun
  • Kyl rose to a leadership position during his last full term in the Senate, when his Republican colleagues selected him as minority whip.
    — JACQUES BILLEAUD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Wixted and his colleagues have found that confidence in court is a poor indicator of a witness’s accuracy.
    — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of colleagues
Noun
  • These early proponents of quantum biology sought explanations for the puzzling properties of life at the classical scale in the counterintuitive laws of physics at the quantum scale.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
  • For its proponents, a country could not be fully independent while its resources and institutions remained excessively dependent on decisions made elsewhere.
    — Andre Pagliarini, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of proponents
Verb
  • But by incorporating the recurring ghost of Richie, a thirteen-year-old inmate who befriends the children—Ward combines the Southern Gothic with a socio-realist tradition in a voice that is both visceral and intimate.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Doran’s inclusion of Nell (Sherry-Lee Watson), a gifted horse trainer of Aboriginal origins who befriends Sybylla, offers an alternate vision of female passion and defiance.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of befriends
Noun
  • That’s why people adopt chatbots as confidants and therapists in the first place.
    — Steven Barrie-Anthony, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026
  • But while close confidants have been supportive, the in-person backlash is also rampant.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of confidants
Noun
  • Such incidental takings are the most common way that endangered animals die, the NYT reported, so advocates fear the move largely guts the ESA.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Too often, environmental advocates insist on the elimination of poaching, logging, and other harmful activities while remaining wholly unfamiliar with the factors at play that lead to predation, neglect, and abuse of nature.
    — Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of advocates

Phrases Containing friends

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friendly
friends
friendship
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Cite this Entry

“Friends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friends. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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