1
as in informants
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
the drug mule refused to turn rat without a guarantee of immunity
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in lovers
someone who regularly spends time in a particular place
on Friday night the mall rats were out in full force
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dogs
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
no one can understand what she finds appealing in a rat like him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rats
Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Sadly, like many other animals, rats sold at pet stores often come from rodent mills.
—Lisa Bloch, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
His work includes the maintenance of all 20 trails, data collection, search and rescue of lost hikers, and the culling of animals that threaten Saba's ecosystem, including rats.
—Betsy Andrews, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
Health advocacy groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest have long urged consumers to avoid products containing BHA because some studies have indicated that the chemical causes cancer in rats, mice and hamsters.
—CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
What changed was the rats’ willingness to work for the sugar water.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Reviewers flagged dirty restaurants 856 times, cited hair in food in 375 reviews and mentioned rats or roaches in 216 cases.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Regardless of rooting interest, an area with so many rink rats makes Olympic hockey appointment viewing.
—Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
In this particular study, the researchers performed surgery on rats, removing a different organ from each rodent in an attempt to better understand which organ systems BPC-157 interacts with outside of the stomach.
—Sara Talpos — Undark, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Noun
The pellets prevent the rats from reproducing but are not harmful to them or other animals.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Sadly, like many other animals, rats sold at pet stores often come from rodent mills.
—Lisa Bloch, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
His work includes the maintenance of all 20 trails, data collection, search and rescue of lost hikers, and the culling of animals that threaten Saba's ecosystem, including rats.
—Betsy Andrews, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
Health advocacy groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest have long urged consumers to avoid products containing BHA because some studies have indicated that the chemical causes cancer in rats, mice and hamsters.
—CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
What changed was the rats’ willingness to work for the sugar water.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Reviewers flagged dirty restaurants 856 times, cited hair in food in 375 reviews and mentioned rats or roaches in 216 cases.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Regardless of rooting interest, an area with so many rink rats makes Olympic hockey appointment viewing.
—Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
In this particular study, the researchers performed surgery on rats, removing a different organ from each rodent in an attempt to better understand which organ systems BPC-157 interacts with outside of the stomach.
—Sara Talpos — Undark, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rats
Noun
-
Rios’ attorneys contend that the case had gone cold when Guevara, who at the time was a gang crimes specialist, not a homicide detective, inserted himself into the investigation by claiming two confidential informants had fingered Rios as the gunman.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
-
White newspaper editors were routinely imprisoned or forced to become police informants.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For museum lovers, the California Academy of Sciences is a must-visit that combines marine life, planetarium shows, and a tropical rainforest biome under one roof.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Feb. 2026
-
For animal lovers, pop over to the island of Vieques where hundreds of wild horses roam free.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
All dogs brought to the beach must also be licensed by their local governments where their owners live.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The house where two dogs and two children roam reasonably freely is a gallery of things collected and things constructed by Green River Project.—
Robert Sullivan,
Vogue,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Security services also rely on informers to tell them who might be using Starlink, and search internet and social media traffic for signs it has been used.—
David Rising,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Tennis fans continue to fill the stands prior to the start of the singles finals of the Dallas Open men's tennis tournament was held at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on February 15, 2026.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Through this project, Jamie shows that the core ideas behind modern machines—cars, fans, and even industrial robots—can be understood with simple components and a bit of patience.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
By crunching data from millions of monthly payroll records for workers in jobs with exposure to generative AI, the authors concluded that workers ages 22 to 25—the canaries—have seen about a 13 percent decline in employment since late 2022.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
There are no canaries there either.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday centers on the denizens of Wazirabad, a small hamlet in the environs of Kabul, during the civil war of the ’90s following the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The clearest successors to O’Hara’s knowing mockumentary style are, undoubtedly, the denizens of NBC’s The Office.—
Paula Mejía,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
That was so, so, so touching, going to a real hospital with the clowns.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Deep cherry red, black, and white come together to create a whimsical world of dice, cards, sad clowns, and a ticking pocketwatch.—
Samantha Brash,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rats. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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