rights 1 of 2

Definition of rightsnext
plural of right
1
as in privileges
something to which one has a just claim everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in claims
an entitlement to something what right do you have to tell us what to do?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

rights

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of right

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 rights
Noun
At the building’s peak, five-foot-tall concrete letters spell out a hundred and three words of a speech delivered by Obama in Selma, Alabama, in 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis and other civil-rights activists were beaten at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 The defense said Allen's presence on suicide precautions limits his ability to mount a defense and deprives him of his due process rights. Garrett Downs, CNBC, 3 May 2026 As the league experienced a growth spurt over the last few years, the value of franchises skyrocketed and the league’s appeal for TV rights dollars rose. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026 Sudan’s paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed at least five people in a drone attack that hit a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Khartoum, a local Sudanese rights group said. ABC News, 3 May 2026 The gun rights and 2nd Amendment enthusiasts like to say that any restrictions on purchasing a gun is a violation of responsible gun owners’ rights. Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2026 That same year, Polis vetoed a broader bill that sought to implement new regulations for social media companies that Polis felt would infringe on First Amendment and privacy rights. Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026 Critics and rights groups have said the DHS campaign violates due ​process and free speech. Reuters, NBC news, 26 Apr. 2026 MrBeast, YouTube’s biggest star, is shopping the film rights to his forthcoming novel with James Patterson. Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg, 26 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rights
Noun
  • Bruce, an airline worker, has hitherto handed off his plus-one flight privileges to Simon, who keenly exploits them to keep filming his globe-trotting doc.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 3 May 2026
  • Steyer has proposed taking steps to ban all corporate spending in elections, even revoking the privileges of corporations that give to campaigns.
    Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • To go with his ancestral claims, Church, who had been drawing obsessively since early childhood, also inherited an artistic mantle.
    Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Moscow did not immediately acknowledge Zelenskyy's claims regarding either strike.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 May 2026
Verb
  • There are so many reasons to be mad; the mostly baseless and endless attacks on higher education, the dismantling of life-saving research, ICE, the subverting of policy that redresses shameful social harms.
    Wendy Nelson Espeland, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
  • There are so many reasons to be mad; the mostly baseless and endless attacks on higher education, the dismantling of life-saving research, ICE, the subverting of policy that redresses shameful social harms.
    Wendy Nelson Espeland, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Some of the players involved said Lurie is still trying to figure out how to balance competing prerogatives without damaging his relationships.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Surprise, surprise, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks survived this outrageous assault upon their prerogatives.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Spiegelman uses the term micro-looting, dressing up petty theft in political pretensions.
    Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Traditionally, Oscars hosts have been at their best when puncturing the pretensions of the stars in attendance, but for the most part, host Conan O’Brien bought into their sense of their own righteousness.
    Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Someone may offer an idea that improves your own, so stay open to where the exchange leads.
    Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
  • As hardware improves, quantum magnetometers could become standard components in future satellite constellations, delivering high-resolution magnetic data with compact payloads that are much cheaper to lift into orbit.
    Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 2026
Verb
  • If the Sharks make the playoffs next season and Celebrini betters his 115-point total from this season, wouldn’t his next deal become that much more expensive?
    Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Nothing betters the gift of time.
    Brie Stimson , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • This bundle remedies the common storage complaint by including a USB hub along with a 512GB SD card, giving you way more room for files than any other machine in this rundown.
    K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Packing motion sickness remedies ahead of time is an easy way to avoid scrambling if the ship starts rocking.
    Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 27 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rights. Accessed 11 May. 2026.

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