1
as in buddy
a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another
really close friends who like to do everything together and are always sharing secrets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in proponent
a person who actively supports or favors a cause
hopes that the new governor will be a friend to environmental causes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to befriend
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of friend
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 16 June 2026
The judge said the district attorney had been a friend since 1999 and acknowledged having gone to the a private mixer held on the sidelines of the event to visit with former colleagues in the district attorney's office.
—CBS News, 16 June 2026
Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
Sending his wife Luciana and all his family and friends our condolences.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for friend
Noun
Later that month, he was struck with tragedy when a car crash in Nigeria led to the deaths of his close friends, personal trainer Latif Ayodele, and strength coach Sina Ghami.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 16 June 2026
The judge said the district attorney had been a friend since 1999 and acknowledged having gone to the a private mixer held on the sidelines of the event to visit with former colleagues in the district attorney's office.
—CBS News, 16 June 2026
Verb
The discourse started to boil when the Duchess of Sussex declared to friend Mindy Kaling that her last name is now Sussex in season 1 of Netflix’s With Love, Meghan, which premiered in March 2025.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
Sending his wife Luciana and all his family and friends our condolences.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for friend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for friend
Noun
-
Schwarts was at the game with two buddies, Nehoray Karadi and Moor Ailoz, who live in Milwaukee.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
-
Evan and his buddies happen to stumble into the island’s sacrificial chamber during the storm, and while trying to chase them out, Kenny ends up victim to the curse.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
This year, as a hopeful reality competition host nominee and proponent of Top Chef earning another reality competition series nom, Kish finds herself in a unique position as a participant on season four of fellow Emmys juggernaut The Traitors.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
21 June 2026
-
David DaCosta, of the 18-acre Ace*Mission Studios, is among those pushing for what’s known as a Business Improvement District, or BID, in the area that proponents refer to as the Boyle Heights Industrial Flats, which runs adjacent to the river.—
Alejandra Molina,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
Verb
-
Bad choices like that are a through-line for this whole story, all the way back to Otto Hightower encouraging his daughter, Alicent, to befriend Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys.—
Sean T. Collins,
Vulture,
22 June 2026
-
Then Susan went to the Philadelphia College of Art and met Jade Lee, while Ted studied at New York City’s School of Visual Arts and befriended Lauren Roselli.—
David Chiu,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, with Anas forced into hiding, a colleague who worked with him on the documentary, Amad Hussein Swali, was murdered in a shooting, a crime for which nobody has been caught.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
My colleague Michael Scherer reported on the administration’s decision to supersede America250, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to celebrating this year’s Independence Day, with a partisan analogue, Freedom 250.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
The pending bill’s supporters say its changes are designed to address cases like that of Gilberto Guttierrez, a Los Angeles County man who has been accused of attacking his wife four times over the last 12 years.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
One of those fans was England supporter Sebastian Oldfield.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
What about a legal right for AIs to freely access the public internet (the right to information); or a legal right for AIs to interact with other AIs (the right to associate); or a legal right to some minimum amount of computing power (the right to necessary resources)?—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
-
Governed by the ever-changing moon — associated with emotions, memory, intuition and our most basic needs — this Water sign governs our emotional world, family ties and deepest instincts.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
Both Pramaggiore, a onetime rising star in Chicago’s corporate world, and McClain, who was a top lobbyist for the utility and one of Madigan’s closest confidants, were sentenced to two years behind bars and had been scheduled for release in August 2027.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
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Meta tech chief Andrew Bosworth, a 20-year company veteran, is a close confidant of Zuckerberg's and someone the CEO could turn to for a bigger role in AI if the newcomers are perceived as failing, the sources said.—
Jonathan Vanian,Julia Boorstin,
CNBC,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Boyd, a fourth-generation farmer and longtime civil rights advocate, said generations of Black farmers have faced barriers accessing government loans and agricultural assistance programs.—
Charlie Lapastora,
CBS News,
20 June 2026
-
But he and other LGBTQ+ advocates also say that the current political climate, with its backlash to gay rights progress, is playing a role.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Friend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friend. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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