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

Earlier this month, a tropical storm fueled heavy rains and strong surf across the Southland, damaging homes from south Orange County to Malibu, causing sinkholes, severe erosion and flooding. — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026 Strong events tend to push a more active, energetic jet stream south toward California, bringing consistent and heavy rains. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Heavy rains fell over swaths of southern Montana, as well as in the Midwest from southern Minnesota down to northern Illinois. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026 In March, after significant winter rains, a different grazier named Paigelynn Trotter, the owner of Coastal Land & Livestock, trucked in three hundred and forty cashmere goats. — Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026 Friday is breezy and seasonably warm with a slightly higher chance for rains. — Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026 The heavy rains left behind debris on the roadway, as well as flooding. — Ross Guidotti, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026 High base, cuts to public capex for meeting fiscal deficit targets and the impact of deficient rains on sowing patterns are some of the key reasons the brokerage expects India’s growth to slow over the next few quarters. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026 That resolution follows a recent incident in which a leak after heavy rains caused a portion of the ceiling plaster to detach. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026

Verb

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 The dust is microscopic asteroid and comet debris that constantly rains in space, eventually making its way to Earth. — Regina G. Barber, NPR, 11 Nov. 2025 Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the lava-licked ground. — Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rains

Noun

Along with the statewide proclamation, the governor proclaimed emergencies in multiple counties that were hit hard by recent storms, including Santa Barbara County.

— Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
Lightning, with the potential for spreading fires, will be possible late Monday if storms remain scattered enough.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of storms

Noun

Stunned at first by his opponent’s aggressiveness and the onslaught of personal attacks, Ted trains himself to withstand the barrages and to respond in kind.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
Moldova reports another drone incursion During the aerial barrages, drones have repeatedly strayed into neighboring countries, unnerving leaders who are wary of Russia and fear being dragged into conflict.

— Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of barrages

Verb

The guidance cuts come as Flutter pours hundreds of millions of dollars into capturing a bigger share of the online gaming and event contract markets.

— Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
Light pours through the windows and settles into every corner, bathing the bakery in the most ethereal glow.

— Samantha Rees, Vogue, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of pours

Verb

As winners take the stage, the audience showers them with paper airplanes.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Aug. 2026
Spotty showers across the Kansas City region Sunday morning give way to sunny skies and building heat, the forecast shows.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of showers

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

The island of Maui could also be hit with life-threatening floods and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

— MEGAN JANETSKY, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
Heat is the deadliest natural disaster event — a silent killer that claims more lives each year than hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined.

— Maria Hadden, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 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

Definition of precipitates

Verb

Bogost lavishes praise on hobbies (fly-fishing), crafts (knitting), and trades (woodworking) as ways to dwell in sensory experience.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 17 June 2026
In one particularly confessional episode, the Belgian star lavishes his wife with praise while waxing lyrical about his past mistakes.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026