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

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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
Roman said the question will be if the defense focuses on their own psychiatric experts right away, or Clancy's friends and family to humanize her to the jurors. — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026 More than two dozen friends and family traveled from Ohio and waved a Marietta College flag for each of his plate appearances. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026 His interest in moderating panels was sparked a couple of years ago by another panelist and the encouragement of his friends. — Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026 This 110-inch-wide sofa gives you plenty of room for family movie nights, weekend lounging, and nights with friends. — Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 16 Aug. 2026 Fergie has reportedly been staying with different friends the last few months, but would love something more permanent. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 16 Aug. 2026 But many of his friends and supporters were quick to link his disintegration to law-enforcement harassment. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026 Also, don’t get too out of control horsing around with friends in the water. — John Natale, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026 The finale underlines that break in its final scenes, cross-cutting between the former friends as Alicent makes her first and only appearance in the episode at the exact moment the full tragedy of Rhaenyra’s upper hand becomes apparent. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for friends
  1. buddies
  2. supporters
  3. associates
  4. colleagues
  5. proponents
  6. befriends
  7. confidants
  8. advocates
Noun
  • But with that connection to Jack, initially forged as foster siblings but later as opioid buddies, comes risk.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Foo Fighters are set to play inside the stadium in five hours, and Bob is with his son, 31-year-old Albert, and a gaggle of his buddies.
    — William Earl, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of buddies
Noun
  • As the court met Monday on Yabloko’s appeal, the party’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse and Russian media reported that several dozen people were detained.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
  • That's where authorities broke up confrontations and made some arrests after supporters from both sides clashed.
    — J.D. Miles, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of supporters
Verb
  • What being Southern meant to his father—and the values Duane associates with being a Southern gentleman.
    — Sid Evans, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The productivity boom everyone associates with the personal computer didn’t actually show up in the macro data until 15 years after the PC was commercialized.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 July 2026
Definition of associates
Noun
  • The owner of her own law firm, Campione was first elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2010 and was unanimously selected by her colleagues to serve as Commission Chair in 2018.
    — James Wilkins, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Geneticist Shigeki Nakagome of Trinity College Dublin and his colleagues analyzed 13 bone samples previously collected from an archaeological site at Camarones in northern Chile.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of colleagues
Noun
  • Andrew Sweetman, the Scottish marine biogeochemist who led the work, hadn’t made such claims, but he was still pilloried by fellow-scientists, and proponents of mining accused him of being an anti-mining crusader.
    — James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The proponents of those ideas believe that spreading them can shift the boundaries of debate — that nothing else will do so in a media environment where conservatives hold enormous power.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of proponents
Verb
  • The film memorably told the story of a young boy who befriends and tries to free a killer whale who has been captured in the wild and is living in an aquarium.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In the midst of it, Etna befriends a small, eager canine, Semeru, who knows Soojin and helps Etna reunite with her.
    — Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of befriends
Noun
  • Kloots serves as one of Jowsey’s three confidants on the show, guiding him — alongside Georgia Hassarati and Sonny Henty — in choosing his future wife.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Perhaps nobody is better suited to marvel at Walker’s recent success than Chenoweth, an assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals and one of Walker’s closest confidants in the organization.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of confidants
Noun
  • For advocates, the Pate case became another example of concerns that have been building for years.
    — Ginger Allen, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Parents and caregivers of intellectually disabled or non-speaking autistic people sometimes argue that neurodivergent self-advocates with low support needs can’t speak for those with disabilities that affect their daily lives in more profound ways.
    — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of advocates

Phrases Containing friends

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Cite this Entry

“Friends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friends. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of friends for Spanish Speakers

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