LAYING DOWN Synonyms: 143 Similar and Opposite Words

laying down

verb

present participle of lay down

as in enacting

to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action the city council promises to lay down new ordinances that will force dog walkers to clean up after their animals

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as in declaring

to state clearly and strongly at the risk of their popularity, the parents laid down the rules for the party and wouldn't accept any arguments

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as in specifying

to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly the supervisor laid down the procedure for a complaint of sexual harassment

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as in relinquishing

to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress commanded the surrounded troops to lay down their weapons

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laying down

Verb

Tomlin, Fonda and Parton played a trio of secretaries who took revenge on their sexist boss by kidnapping him and enacting changes in the workplace in his name.

— Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
The appeal came less than 24 hours after Talwani issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking parts of USPS’s new rule enacting new guardrails on mail-in voting in the name of election security.

— Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of enacting

Verb

In practice, invoking a Tuey-Rodriguez charge or instruction is often done with the hopes a jury will be able to reach a verdict, but is also a step judges are generally expected to take before declaring a mistrial in Massachusetts.

— Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
After publicly declaring her love for the Nacho Libre actor in a 2024 interview with The Tonight Show, the Sentimental Value actress feels badly about potentially embarrassing her celebrity crush, according to her sister, Dakota Fanning.

— Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of declaring

Verb

Developers may move further from a system’s underlying code toward writing prompts, specifying outcomes and reviewing what AI fills in.

— Atul Sabharwal, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
After hearing his lawyer's arguments for a lesser prison term, Judge William Tam said a sentence would be delivered as soon as possible, without specifying a date.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of specifying

Verb

The politics of guns has changed significantly in the past five years, with Congress passing a bipartisan gun safety law and the National Rifle Association’s influence in decline.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Notable franchise records • Dak Prescott is six touchdown passes away from passing Tony Romo to become the Dallas Cowboys career leader in passing touchdowns.

— Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of passing

Verb

Following the unification of Italy in the 19th century, these traditions increasingly came to be understood collectively as Italian cuisine, although regional differences remain a defining feature of the country’s cuisine.

— Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Sep. 2026
But the island’s most recent defining event was the devastation wrought by 2017’s Hurricane Irma.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of defining

Verb

And with the aforementioned outgoings, the Uruguay international is also probably Tottenham’s best player in the air now, rendering him near-undroppable.

— Elias Burke, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
But the bigger issue is that Tenzing keeps its title character and his closest ally (to say nothing of all the smaller characters around them) at a reverent distance, rendering them in broad strokes rather than fine shading.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rendering

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.

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laying by

laying down

laying eyes on

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“Laying down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laying%20down. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of laying down

verb

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