as in hills
an area of high ground
there are permanent glaciers in the cool, humid highlands of the Pacific Northwest
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Recent Examples of highlands
Ronnie Moyers heard the bird hammering in the woods one morning in late February, several weeks before the species usually shows up in Virginia’s western highlands.
—
Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2026
Thailand Located in the northern highlands of Thailand in Chiang Mai province, Doi Inthanon National Park is the picture of combined natural grandeur and cultural richness.
—Jasmine Ting, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2026
The ambitious supernatural chiller, rooted in folklore from Vietnam’s northern highlands, is scheduled for release in Vietnam on April 24 to coincide with the major Reunification Day holiday period.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 16 Mar. 2026
Boyes, a conservation biologist designated a National Geographic Explorer, has been searching Angola’s highlands for a mysterious, elusive herd of what have been named Ghost Elephants deep within its forests.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Boyes believes that Henry has living descendants roaming the Angolan highlands and is determined to confirm a genetic link.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
Got to walk around the highlands in a red cloak.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2026
There’s a great Wings photo that fans cherish — a day in the Scottish highlands, the family farm, Paul and the band playing a jolly game of footie while his sheepdog muse Martha joins in, chasing the ball.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2026
For his latest documentary the German filmmaker behind Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams follows conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on his obsessive quest to find the mythical ghost elephants of Lisima in the highlands of Angola.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 10 Feb. 2026
Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2026
Thailand Located in the northern highlands of Thailand in Chiang Mai province, Doi Inthanon National Park is the picture of combined natural grandeur and cultural richness.
—Jasmine Ting, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2026
The ambitious supernatural chiller, rooted in folklore from Vietnam’s northern highlands, is scheduled for release in Vietnam on April 24 to coincide with the major Reunification Day holiday period.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 16 Mar. 2026
Boyes, a conservation biologist designated a National Geographic Explorer, has been searching Angola’s highlands for a mysterious, elusive herd of what have been named Ghost Elephants deep within its forests.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Boyes believes that Henry has living descendants roaming the Angolan highlands and is determined to confirm a genetic link.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
Got to walk around the highlands in a red cloak.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2026
There’s a great Wings photo that fans cherish — a day in the Scottish highlands, the family farm, Paul and the band playing a jolly game of footie while his sheepdog muse Martha joins in, chasing the ball.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2026
For his latest documentary the German filmmaker behind Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams follows conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on his obsessive quest to find the mythical ghost elephants of Lisima in the highlands of Angola.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highlands
Noun
-
Hours and hours of rolling green hills and rice paddies passed by the windows, the pale pools amid the shoots flashing bits of sky.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The villagers become sympathetic to the revolutionaries, who hide in the hills, and increasingly radicalized.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The soft glow of lanterns against ancient mounds turns a seemingly simple walk into a reflective, cinematic journey through American history.—
Rafael Peña,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Huge snow piles, huge snow mounds.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The McLaughlin's spring break vacation to Colorado's mountains required a hard shift in plans following a historically warm and dry winter.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The storms delivered heavy rainfall directly into the Lake Tahoe basin, while also dumping substantial snowfall across the surrounding mountains.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Coral barrier reefs protect beaches and uplands.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The National Park Service (NPS) explains that Grand Canyon National Park is located entirely within the state of Arizona and encompasses 278 miles of the Colorado River and its surrounding uplands.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highlands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highlands. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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