RAINS Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

rains 1 of 2

noun

plural of rain

as in storms

a steady falling of water from the sky in significant quantity the rain continued for most of the day

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in barrages

a heavy fall of objects the Norman invaders fled when the castle's defenders threw a rain of stones down upon them

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rains

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rain

as in pours

to fall as water in a continuous stream of drops from the clouds it started raining early this morning and hasn't let up since

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in showers

to give readily and in large quantities she rained praise upon her graduating students the squadron rained bombs on the enemy's fortifications

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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 rains

Noun

By Sunday afternoon, the drenching rains had largely subsided in the Sedona area. — Philip Marcelo, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026 Drought and heavy rains in places like West Africa have hurt cocoa harvests in recent seasons and pushed up prices worldwide. — Joe Hernandez, NPR, 30 Oct. 2026 In June, before the summer rains return, people gather saguaro fruit, knocking it from towering cacti with a kuipad, a long pole made of saguaro ribs, then dry the protein-rich seeds and make jam from the fruit. — Tovar Cerulli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026 The city of Visakhapatnam, in the path of Arnab's heavy rains, is where Google, Adani and Airtel plan to invest $15 billion for a hyperscale data center. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026 The neighboring subdivision on Destiny Street has issues with drainage after heavy rains. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026 Bolsonaro's campaign had also requested an extension, citing heavy rains that shut polling stations in the south, a right-wing stronghold. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026 Bolsonaro's request was due to heavy rains in Brazil's south, where he is favored. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026

Verb

Light Isaias rains in the Charlotte area Saturday morning are expected to become heavier throughout the day and evening, NWS meteorologists said. — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2026 But as the water rains down, the sound and lighting shift with the action into more of a movement piece. — Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 As God rains down sulfur and fire to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife glances back and turns into a pillar of salt. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026 This dust accumulates in the corners, lurks under the sofa, and rains down on your lampshades. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 2 July 2026 Rain like it almost never rains in the desert around Las Vegas. — Eric Boodman, STAT, 23 Mar. 2026 Time seems to collapse in on itself when bombs keep dropping overhead, and the act of trying to visit a next-door neighbor becomes a matter of life or death as sniper fire rains down. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026 That and the fact it never rains. — Lauren Bans, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026 From his pulpit, Wicks rains down selectively vituperative fire and brimstone, with an eye toward provoking walkouts from unsuspecting visitors—say, a gay couple or a single mom. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rains

Noun

Other elections officials had urged voters to cast their ballots before the storms hit.

— Christopher Weber, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Experts say this year's extreme El Niño is adding more moisture to the air and shifting atmospheric winds toward the Southwest, creating more ideal conditions for storms.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of storms

Noun

Ukraine now faces the prospect of punishing winter barrages on its electricity and other energy installations by an emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin.

— Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2026
Bass’ barrages got to Raman more than a few times, leading her to talk over the NBC and Telemundo moderators or even shush them.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of barrages

Verb

An infusion pump hangs from a pole beside him; sunlight pours through tall windows in the background.

— Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
Jayawardhana defended the decades-old partnership between higher education institutions and Washington, which pours billions of dollars into research universities.

— Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of pours

Noun

There have been heavy rainfalls since, but because its location is so near to the equator, where ferocious winds can’t properly spin, the lush land has been spared from the worst.

— DeMarco Williams, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
That increase has already led to more sunny day flooding, intensified rainfalls and hurricanes, reflected in higher and higher insurance premiums.

— Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026

Definition of rainfalls

Noun

Dessert brings homemade gulab jamun and cardamom sticky toffee cake, which Gurjar floods with caramel and finishes with flaky salt.

— Mehr Singh, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Last month, rains described as the heaviest in more than 80 years caused severe floods in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, and left eight people dead.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of floods

Verb

Within the cells, electricity plates out pure elemental metals and selectively precipitates battery compounds like lithium carbonate.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Again, an ammonium fluoride solution is one of the starting materials; the silicon dioxide simply precipitates out of this solution.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026