masses 1 of 2

noun

plural of mass
as in people
the body of the community as contrasted with the elite the masses demanded the elimination of tax breaks for the rich

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

masses

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of mass
as in accumulates
to gradually form into a layer, pile, or mass clouds massing on the western side of the mountain range

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for masses
  1. people
  2. accumulates
  3. crowd
  4. gathers
  5. public
  6. populace
  7. mob
Noun
  • Another 13 people were wounded on downtown Sacramento’s K Street and 10th Street, in what became the deadliest mass shooting in the city’s history.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2026
  • Organizers say more than 125,000 people are expected throughout the event, bringing in millions of dollars for the local economy.
    — Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 19 June 2026
Definition of people
Verb
  • Software built that way accumulates weight rather than value, and its usable lifespan shrinks instead of extending.
    — Muhammad Muzammil Rawjani, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • As the gas rapidly accumulates within these tiny crevices, the bubbles expand almost instantaneously and push the beverage violently out of the bottle to create a soda fountain, also called a geyser.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of accumulates
Noun
  • While many teams boast capacity crowds, MLS needs to boost its streaming ratings.
    — Michael Lewis, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026
  • But as demonstrations attracted larger crowds, the government was forced to acknowledge them and respond to their growing influence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of crowd
Verb
  • The increasingly popular annual staple for cat lovers, created and curated by Will Braden, gathers the best cat videos from across digital media.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Argentina’s shale output is up 28% year-on-year as the country’s pivot to become an energy supplier — rather than buyer — gathers pace.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of gathers
Noun
  • The barrage has caused fuel shortages in Russia, eaten into Russian refining capacity, and unsettled the Russian public.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • His early memories center on 2005’s Axis of Evil tour, during which Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani, Aron Kader, and Dean Obeidallah set out to contend with an American public still living under the cloud of the World Trade Center attack.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of public
Noun
  • This is where the irrationality of antisemitic conspiracy gains no purchase among a reasoning and pragmatic populace; where government is led by people who grasp, and embrace, the seriousness of their responsibilities.
    — Rory Lancman, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Since the 1700s, Jamaica’s populace has been dominated by the descendants of African slaves.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of populace
Noun
  • Either way, eventually the discontent reaches a fever pitch and thousands of smallfolk form a mob and storm the Dragonpit.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • After all, the loosely autobiographical movie tells the story of a suburban family that becomes entangled with the Russian mob.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of mob
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.

Browse Nearby Words

massed
masses
massing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Masses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masses. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on masses

Nglish: Translation of masses for Spanish Speakers

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'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

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
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
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All