reed

noun

ˈrēd How to pronounce reed (audio)
Definition of reednext
as in coward
a person without strength of character the congresswoman is but a reed who bends whichever way the political winds are blowing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 reed Just water, the tips of reeds, a floating mat of palmetto thatching that might have been someone’s roof. — Literary Hub, 16 July 2026 In the absence of any significant demonstration of integrity or independence, this is a slender reed on which to rest a distinction. — Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026 Göransson found someone who could play an aulos, a double-reed, oboelike instrument that was popular in the ancient world for centuries but later disappeared. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 July 2026 For centuries, this was a world of reeds, sedge, eels, wildfowl, mist, and danger. — Rob Crossan, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for reed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reed
  1. coward
  2. jellyfish
  3. doormat
  4. mouse
  5. sheep
Noun
  • To me, the most notable change — outside of Robert not getting fully naked, you cowards — is that the meltdown is witnessed by much more of the senior class.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The mythmaking rebellion of Tekena, first of her name, for the sake of a coward’s love was as recognizable to her descendants as their need to cross borders, both ethnic and geographic, in search of a happiness that wasn’t promised.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of coward
Noun
  • Imagine a 350-foot-tall orb that can be transformed into virtually anything, from a harvest moon rising over the Strip to a giant snow globe to a tank of undulating jellyfish.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Insects belong to the kingdom Animalia, along with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, octopuses, snails, jellyfish, worms, and many other groups.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of jellyfish
Noun
  • The Indiana Hoosiers have been a recruiting doormat for the entire existence of industry rankings and recruiting services.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Alexandra Iordanou, the founder of Alex Jordyn Interiors, cautions against using too-small doormats or runners.
    — Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 19 July 2026
Definition of doormat
Noun
  • In April, Meta rolled out a program known as the Model Capability Initiative that captured employee mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes and screenshots to generate data for training its AI models.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • In the first stage, 3 to 6 months in a mouse [about 20 to 30 years in a human], there is a loss of certain fat and muscle cells, and of two immature cell types in the brain that have the capacity to regenerate different types of brain tissue.
    — Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of mouse
Noun
  • Gajdusek had come to the idea of injecting animals after a veterinary pathologist noticed that the brains of kuru patients resembled those of sheep with scrapie, a fatal neurological disease transmitted through exposure to infected tissues.
    — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Feta is a fresh, semi-hard cheese traditionally made from sheep’s milk or a mix of sheep and goat milk.
    — Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of sheep

Browse Nearby Words

reechos
reed
reedified
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reed. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on reed

Nglish: Translation of reed for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reed

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