1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

lions

noun

plural of lion
as in magnates
a person of rank, power, or influence in a particular field the book festival brought together two lions of contemporary poetry for a joint reading

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 lions While other competitors incorporated imagery such as lions, Diggs centered his work on a person in an urban environment. — Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2026 Sea lions and fur seals in Monterey Bay have been hit hard by domoic acid poisoning in 2026, the Marine Mammal Center said. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026 An investigation is underway to establish the definitive cause of the deaths inside the area where wildlife including lions, elephants and black rhinos live in proximity with semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists. — ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026 Ten lions found dead in a wildlife reserve in Tanzania are suspected to have been poisoned, according to wildlife officials. — Kristin Wright, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026 After Israel destroyed Jenin refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002, a young girl looked into Mohammad Bakri’s camera and said that Palestinians would live proudly as eagles and die standing like lions. — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026 There are also frequent mountain lion sightings in and around Los Angeles, including recent incidents in Santa Monica and Pasadena where lions were tranquilized and removed. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 The 135 animals found at a ranch also included lions, buffalo, sulcata tortoises, spider monkeys, jaguars, an American bison and a green macaw. — CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 The Indianapolis Zoo confirmed all its lions were accounted for to the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network. — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lions
  1. magnates
  2. tycoons
  3. kings
  4. princes
Noun
  • The verdict cleared a legal cloud hanging over OpenAI's restructuring right as both magnates were steering their companies toward the public market.
    — Alicia Park, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Newspapers fell into the hands of magnates who advanced their own interests.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Definition of magnates
Noun
  • Lately, though, many mom-and-pop tycoons are turning to different kinds of funding.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Today’s tycoons learn a lesson from history — public esteem for rich entrepreneurs inevitably sours, columnist Michael Hiltzik argues.
    — Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of tycoons
Noun
  • All the kings horses and all the kings men have continued to put me back together again.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Yes, those of us who are both excited and nervous about the promise of AI welcome the prospect of kings and clerics and populist politicians alike standing up to the tech lords — who, frankly, could use some perspectives other than their own.
    — Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of kings
Noun
  • Fictional princes fill pop culture, from heroic leaders in science fiction empires to charming ones in modern takes on classic fairy tales.
    — Sarah Scott, Parents, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The couples worked together through The Royal Foundation and delighted the public whenever the princes and their partners stepped out together.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of princes

Browse Nearby Words

lionizing
lions
lip
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lions. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of argot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All