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heels 1 of 2

noun

plural of heel
as in dogs
a person whose behavior is offensive to others felt like a heel when she found out that she'd blamed the wrong person

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

heels

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of heel
as in slopes
to set or cause to be at an angle the strong gust heeled the sailboat almost to the point of capsizing, but we managed to right it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 heels
Noun
During the day, trendy ballerina heels or black ankle boots and a satchel bag are enough to look stylish. — India Roby, Glamour, 23 Sep. 2026 Hot on the heels of Gigi Hadid’s Valentino Haute Couture opener, the Italian supermodel swept onto the runway in an equally showstopping look from the house’s archives—plucked straight from the Pierpaolo Piccioli era. — Alice Abbiadati, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2026 The news comes on the heels of an announcement that Madonna will open the show with her first performance on the VMAs in 23 years. — Chris Willman, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026 Swift paired her custom tee with Area jeans, a Dior handbag and Versace heels. — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026 Two plays and 28 yards later, the 49ers built a 35-6 lead after scoring a third third-quarter touchdown on a 1-yard Christian McCaffrey run, and that score difference forced Jeff Hafley’s team to play on its heels the rest of the game. — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026 Their informal ‘pull-aside’ comes on the heels of a sweeping oil deal granting the United States a major stake in Venezuela’s vast reserves. — Seung Min Kim, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026 The news comes on the heels of the stunning announcement last week from OpenAI that its own model had solved the Navier-Stokes problem, one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 16 Sep. 2026 Jolie wore a stylish black pantsuit and heels for the outing, while Zahara donned a black halter dress. — Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
Savoy Brown also wore Manolo Blahnik heels with a Hanut Singh ring. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 26 Feb. 2026 These sultry heels have a subtle pink hue like the Elisabet Tang heels, as well as eye-catching hold hardware on the back. — Jordan Julian, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026 The action then moves to a studio where Law Roach is styling Adrina Lima who is wearing an archival Maison Margiela top with a Miss Claire Sullivan skirt and Helmut Lang heels. — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2025 Amanu, the youngest, is the most experimental, wearing business casual ties and button downs one day and trying on a sequined dress and heels the next. — Essence, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heels
  1. dogs
  2. slopes
  3. jerks
  4. tilts
  5. clowns
  6. angles
  7. skunks
  8. snakes
Noun
  • The 24-hour fitness center has state-of-the-art machines, and dogs are welcome for a $75 fee per stay.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The curious case of the Flynn’s two pet dogs in the nighttime also provided key evidence, much like in the famed Sherlock Holmes story.
    — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of dogs
Verb
  • The rest of the Cambria isn’t bad, either, including the shops and galleries along Main Street (which is deceptively long) and the piney slopes above.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In rivers and streams in Virginia and Maryland, Hack measured the length of each stream and the area of the land that slopes toward that stream and therefore drains into it, called its basin or drainage area.
    — Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of slopes
Noun
  • Lee and his Burning co-writer Oh Jung-mi resist what might have been the first instinct of many filmmakers by refusing to make Ye-ji and Sang-woo overly patronizing rich jerks.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The Ars OpenForum is a place for readers to ask questions, compare notes, argue (without being jerks to each other), and go down all sorts of rabbit holes.
    — Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of jerks
Verb
  • If Mensah or Manning or Moore play consistently in big games and the playoffs, then the argument, in my view, tilts from Smith to one of the quarterbacks – if Willis doesn’t prove franchise QB-worthy in the months ahead.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The time points to the moment when the Earth tilts equally toward and away from the Sun and brings nearly equal amounts of daylight to all latitudes.
    — Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of tilts
Noun
  • Because some of them are showing up to the game looking like clowns.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The excessiveness of Ken Russell, Joe Coleman, Tasha Tudor, clowns, migraines, Priscilla Presley, and the Winchester Mystery House.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of clowns
Verb
  • Adapting to the 20,000-seat Garden, Styles’s stage is a more streamlined semi-circle that still angles for maximum access, plus a little pop.
    — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Outdoor curtains lend some privacy while providing a bit of shade when the sun angles in at sunrise and sunset.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 23 June 2026
Definition of angles
Noun
  • Rabies is spread through bites and scratches from infected animals — most often bats, foxes, raccoons and skunks — and is almost always fatal once symptoms begin, though a four-to-five-shot vaccine given after exposure is nearly 100% effective.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Pittsburgh's two new skunk sisters are one step closer to getting their names, thanks to the internet.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of skunks
Noun
  • There were rattlesnakes and vipers in the rest of Canada, but no snakes here in except the harmless garter snake.
    — Paul Theroux, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
  • But by now, thousands of examples have been reported, Feschotte said, in species that run the gamut from fungal pathogens to snakes to cows.
    — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of snakes

Phrases Containing heels

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heeling
heels
heft
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Cite this Entry

“Heels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heels. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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