roles

noun

variants also rôles
plural of role
as in tasks
the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists studying the role of sunlight in the body's production of vitamin D

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 roles In some instances, Indigenous nations played surprising roles as collaborators with English merchants to conduct the large-scale slave trade of Native peoples, including in the Carolinas, Utah, and even Central America. — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026 Further forward, King and Bobb would suit No 10 roles behind the dynamic Gonzalo Garcia. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 While Ploughman is a fictional persona in a real-life setting, Garfield didn’t approach him any differently from those other roles. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 Even though the tides are slowly turning, many video games have formulaic plots that reinforce old-school gender and heteronormative roles, often featuring a hero saving a damsel in distress from a menacing villain. — Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2026 John Lithgow and Paapa Essiedu step into the roles of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, respectively. — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026 Clifford brings more than 30 years of experience, including CFO and COO roles at The AZEK Company and Cantel Medical. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026 Elektra was previously the editor-in-chief at Selfridges, looking after content and editorial, and has held senior roles at i-D and Vice. — Elektra Kotsoni, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026 The case turned into a years-long legal saga, with multiple people convicted of their roles in arranging the hit, including Wendi’s brother, Charlie Adelson, and her mother, Donna. — Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roles
  1. tasks
  2. purposes
  3. jobs
  4. functions
  5. parts
  6. works
Noun
  • The Moon opposes probing Pluto, bringing attention to unfinished tasks, mental clutter, or a habit that no longer helps.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
  • For now, the company is scaling excavator deployments and expanding the types of tasks its system can perform.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of tasks
Noun
  • Around for decades, red-light therapy has traditionally been used to treat chronic muscle and joint pain and various injuries, and has shown cosmetic benefits for skin and facial care, purposes for which it’s cleared by the FDA.
    — Mirin Fader, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • One of the Constitution’s founding purposes was to prevent change.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of purposes
Noun
  • Weiss had interviewed for other jobs since his Rockies’ tenure, but got no other inquiries last winter.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Beyond health, direct cash support boosts local economies by creating jobs and stimulating spending.
    — Mona Hanna, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of jobs
Noun
  • Production, logistics and office functions will be located within the same industrial campus, primarily bringing teams over from existing ASML sites.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Coach-to-player communication was restored with about six minutes remaining in the second quarter, and clock functions and yardage distances were back on the scoreboard.
    — Bob Ferrante, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of functions
Noun
  • The split also means immigrants in some parts of the country are getting bail hearings while those in other places, including Texas and Louisiana, face additional hurdles to seek release.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Hank Greenberg entered the Army after winning his second MVP and lost three full years and parts of two others to war.
    — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of parts
Noun
  • That went up to over 62,000 in March of this year, still a long way below the 105,000 the ground will welcome when works are finally complete — which Barca now hope will be in 2028.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The island also has over 80 private art galleries and plays host to several festivals, including the Thessaloniki Film Festival, which showcases works from emerging talents.
    — Jennifer Tzeses, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of works

Browse Nearby Words

role-plays
roles
roll
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Roles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roles. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of hobnob

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All