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parentheses

noun

plural of parenthesis
as in intervals
a break in continuity there was a parenthesis of silence when the microphone momentarily lost power

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 parentheses Numbers in parentheses indicate passage numbers within each chapter. — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026 All figures in parentheses below are current estimates for those crop years in million bales. — Sj Guest Editorial, Footwear News, 18 Aug. 2026 Irrespective of his death in parentheses, Philip Sidney wielded the two typographical boomerangs with aplomb in his brilliantly stylish and dizzyingly chaotic Arcadia. — Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026 Here’s a rundown of other transfers who should make a major impact this season (former schools in parentheses). — Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026 Their ages as of the start of next season are in parentheses. — Zach Harper, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 The tutor recognized the expression, asked him to clarify his parentheses, and guided him through a second application of the difference-of-squares pattern. — Ray Ravaglia, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 Top 10 best malls Here are USA Today readers’ 2026 selections of their favorite malls in the United States with last year’s rank in parentheses. — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parentheses
  1. intervals
  2. interruptions
  3. hiatuses
  4. gaps
  5. pauses
Noun
  • This work later proved that prime numbers, while randomly scattered in small sections of the number line, appear to be regularly arranged over sufficiently large intervals.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Tickets cost £33 (about $44) and are sold in 10-minute intervals, for a 40-minute visit, but the first batch are sold out.
    — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of intervals
Noun
  • Mercury opposes hazy Neptune, making expectations unclear and interruptions harder to manage.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Additionally, customers who experience more than six electric service interruptions of at least five minutes in 12 months will receive an outage credit.
    — Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of interruptions
Noun
  • Manon Bannerman and Sophia Laforteza are taking separate hiatuses from Katseye; while Bannerman’s status in the group remains unknown, Laforteza’s mental-health break will continue until she’s reassessed in September.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Haircut 100, on the other hand, took some long hiatuses as a band.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of hiatuses
Noun
  • However, these gaps in the system rarely get prioritized in future enhancements due to competing priorities.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The fund now focuses on creating new programs to rethink rural health, instead of filling in financial gaps.
    — Daniel Payne, STAT, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of gaps
Noun
  • Some deepfakes still have telltale flaws such as unnatural facial movements, lip-sync glitches, robotic speech or awkward pauses — but the technology is rapidly improving, a spokesperson for the organization said.
    — Emily Elconin for CNN, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
  • If pauses were put in place, wouldn’t that cost your business quite a lot of money, and Anthropic’s business quite a lot of money, ahead of these critical moments in public-market debuts?
    — Fortune Editors, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of pauses

Browse Nearby Words

parented
parentheses
parenthesis
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Cite this Entry

“Parentheses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parentheses. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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