PATRONS Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

patrons

noun

plural of patron

as in customers

a person who buys a product or uses a service from a business a restaurant patron

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sponsors

a person who takes the responsibility for some other person or thing the wealthy philanthropist is one of the city's most generous patrons of its symphony orchestra

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in donors

one that helps another with gifts or money the patron for the museum's current blockbuster is the city's biggest banking institution

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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 patrons Kulusich says she's witnessed other Disneyland patrons touch character actors or ask them inappropriate questions. — Owen Carry, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2026 The Buñuelian skeptic in me also shirks at Fried’s approving references to Diderot’s petite église invisible, the small hidden church whose members—painters, critics, curators, patrons—are the vision-gifted serious pursuers of art history. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 And after that, perhaps the various communities — artists, audiences, patrons, big donors — that make up the Kennedy Center ecosystem would fall in line and embrace or at least tolerate his co-option of the living memorial to the 35th president. — Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2026 Some of those exiting patrons made their way to hotels that saw a 25% revenue bump between the World Cup and Sail Boston. — Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 Outdoor dining boomed during the pandemic, when, under an emergency order, thousands of restaurants put tables and chairs out on the sidewalks and streets so patrons could dine amid public health concerns and restrictions. — Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 And dozens of patrons packed a nearly 4-hour meeting earlier this summer to ask questions about potential electricity use, environmental impact, noise concerns and safety hazards that could come from Project Catalyst. — Julianna Mejia august 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026 For many patrons and artists, the center has simply become too politicized to go anywhere near. — Janay Kingsberry, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 After the gunman fired into the restaurant, McClain helped evacuate patrons and employees while looking for the threat, according to police. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrons

Noun

About one third of its customers had adopted that safeguard, which will now become mandatory by year’s end.

— Soo Youn, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Likewise for Ameren customers downstate, higher electric bills are expected this summer.

— Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of customers

Noun

Wild cards announced further in advance can attract sponsors.

— Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Some critics were also concerned the project’s sponsors, including Boeing, Shell, Toyota, United Airlines and Royal Caribbean, had business in front of the Department of Transportation.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of sponsors

Noun

Virginia offers proximity to donors and national TV studios in Washington; the same options are available by adding a New York City stop on the way to New Hampshire.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan – which is needed by approximately 45% of the population – has been dramatically cut by international donors since the Taliban returned to power, with women and girls bearing the brunt of those cuts.

— Kara Fox, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of donors

Noun

These ritualists served a range of clients, whether African Americans or members of other ethnic groups, and sometimes built lucrative businesses around their services.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Below, the experts dive into what colors and cuts their clients will be asking for this season.

— Loren Savini, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of clients

Noun

As the court met Monday on Yabloko’s appeal, the party’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse and Russian media reported that several dozen people were detained.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
That's where authorities broke up confrontations and made some arrests after supporters from both sides clashed.

— J.D. Miles, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of supporters

Noun

The casino said all the people involved were employees of the restaurant and that no guests were involved.

— Richard Ramos, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Brisbane, Australia — One of Australia’s most high-profile murder cases is back in court where a possible retrial, or an even longer prison sentence, awaits the home cook who used toxic mushrooms to kill three lunch guests.

— Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of guests

Noun

After Gretchen Whitmer, the state’s popular Democratic governor, endorsed Stevens last week, El-Sayed explained the choice as the inevitable product of the two women’s benefactors.

— Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Working with patrons Anadol counters that anyone can have free access to the models his studio develops, and that there's nothing new about contemporary artists' relationships with rich and powerful benefactors.

— Chloe Veltman, NPR, 29 July 2026