prayers

noun

plural of prayer
1
as in petitions
an address to God or a deity he always directed a bedside prayer to God before going to sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in appeals
an earnest request we hope that the governor will hear our prayer and do something about this pressing problem

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 prayers The Hampshire County Sheriff's Office thanked everyone who helped in the three-day search and asked people to keep the woman's family in their thoughts and prayers. — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 Sending healing prayers to your family, your daughter and all who loved you. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026 The West Valley Muslim Association applied in 2024 to update its conditional use permit with the Town of Los Gatos to extend its operating hours to accommodate morning, nightly and Ramadan prayers at the mosque on Farley Road. — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026 And clearly God answered those prayers, brought me back home. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026 Sending healing prayers to your family, your daughter, and all who loved you. — Marc Malkin, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026 My heart and prayers are with you, your daughter, your family, friends and fans. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026 Our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this devastating incident. — Greg Norman-Diamond , Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Thank you for your messages, your prayers, your encouragement, and for standing beside our team throughout these past weeks. — Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prayers
  1. petitions
  2. appeals
  3. orisons
  4. pleas
  5. requests
Noun
  • The petition was launched on Canada's parliamentary petitions portal, where citizens and residents of Canada can set up petitions to parliament.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The move was so broken that players across the country started online petitions to try and get the EA developers to nerf Judkins' spinning.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of petitions
Noun
  • This week's hearings mark the first major step in Anthony's post-conviction appeals process following his sentencing.
    — CBS Texas Staff, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • If the dispute is not resolved during the examination, UnitedHealth can pursue the IRS administrative appeals process and potentially litigate the matter.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of appeals
Noun
  • Kibandi discussed with us about the power of art in creating change and how photography can be a vehicle for culture expanding orisons for girls and women.
    — Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of orisons
Noun
  • Through May, prosecutors had charged fewer than four dozen people with crimes related to noncitizen voting, ProPublica’s analysis of DOJ data and federal court filings shows, getting convictions or guilty pleas in 14 cases.
    — Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • And in 2020, the Daily News reported that one Bronx gun suspect was acquitted and two others were allowed to withdraw felony guilty pleas after Habib admitted evidence in the case had been tampered with.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of pleas
Noun
  • The district has not responded to those requests after 12 days.
    — Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Representatives for Wondermind, Gomez, and Teefey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of requests

Browse Nearby Words

prayerfulness
prayers
praying
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prayers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prayers. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on prayers

Nglish: Translation of prayers 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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of august

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

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

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All