1
as in sources
a point or place at which something is invented or provided
he insists that insecurity is the root of all jealousy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in origins
the source from which something grows or develops
one would need to go back at least several hundred years to find the root of the entrenched hostility between the neighboring nations
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in foundations
an immaterial thing upon which something else rests
an implicit trust in the wisdom of the people is the root of democracy
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in essences
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
at root, it's a question of the proper limits, if any, of free speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in lodges
to set solidly in or as if in surrounding matter
rooted the post securely in the dirt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of roots
Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Oct. 2025
The brand, which began as a music label in 2002 before adding a ready-to-wear line in 2005, will retain Maison Kitsuné’s youth culture roots while targeting a more mature audience.
—Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2025
Begin by breaking up the roots of two ‘Peacock White’ kale plants and pushing them into the soil at the center.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
And while the roots of the commodity can be credited to African farmers and producers, the coffee industry has largely gotten away from the Black community.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Beyond the massive servers, researchers estimate that tens of millions of active servers span topics such as sports and study groups—proof that the app’s chat, voice and livestream tools have outgrown their gaming roots.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
While associated with left-wing causes such as the Green New Deal, Markey can also talk up his working-class roots.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
In Zones 7 and below, dahlia's fleshy roots—called tubers—are killed by cold temperatures.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Oct. 2025
Casper will be the first to tell you about this danger, and to articulate its roots deep in our culture.
—Gary Greenberg, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
Feleti Penitala Teo, Time, 22 Sep. 2025
In a strong culture, everyone roots their daily decisions in a desire to be in it to win it; there's a sense of ownership, pride and belonging.
—Alex Brueckmann, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
As well, his longstanding appreciation of country music roots his art in respect and reverence of the genre's history.
—Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
Her perky protagonist notably navigated a romantic relationship with vampire Bill Compton and explored the roots of her own fairy ancestry.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Oct. 2025
The brand, which began as a music label in 2002 before adding a ready-to-wear line in 2005, will retain Maison Kitsuné’s youth culture roots while targeting a more mature audience.
—Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2025
Begin by breaking up the roots of two ‘Peacock White’ kale plants and pushing them into the soil at the center.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
And while the roots of the commodity can be credited to African farmers and producers, the coffee industry has largely gotten away from the Black community.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Beyond the massive servers, researchers estimate that tens of millions of active servers span topics such as sports and study groups—proof that the app’s chat, voice and livestream tools have outgrown their gaming roots.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
While associated with left-wing causes such as the Green New Deal, Markey can also talk up his working-class roots.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
In Zones 7 and below, dahlia's fleshy roots—called tubers—are killed by cold temperatures.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Oct. 2025
Casper will be the first to tell you about this danger, and to articulate its roots deep in our culture.
—Gary Greenberg, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
Rising seas could swallow the land that roots our identity.
—Feleti Penitala Teo, Time, 22 Sep. 2025
In a strong culture, everyone roots their daily decisions in a desire to be in it to win it; there's a sense of ownership, pride and belonging.
—Alex Brueckmann, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
As well, his longstanding appreciation of country music roots his art in respect and reverence of the genre's history.
—Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roots
Noun
-
Obviously, Quillan isn’t staying, but my understanding from talking to sources is Treliving continues to consider his options in terms of bringing in another forward.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In the meantime, CEOs can find signals that point to a weakening employment from private data sources.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The origins of Betty White's Chicken Pacific recipe aren't well-documented, but it's thought to have started with whole chicken breasts baked in a sweet, sticky sauce.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Entertainment Weekly looks back on the acclaimed singer's discography, from her country origins to her latest pop anthems.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Stay with the familiar model—or embrace a future where autonomy, ownership, and continuous improvement are the new foundations of success.—
Matt Emma,
USA Today,
6 Oct. 2025
-
This is what happens to faulty foundations.—
Omar Kelly
Updated October 5,
Miami Herald,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The songs pack a wide range of elements into a single track, starting with rock, pop, soul, funk, dub, club music, and rap, plus various other essences, from singer-songwriter-like qualities to music originating from Japan’s internet like Vocaloid.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Meanwhile, the Enchanted glittered with edible pink shimmer dust, and bursting with fruity, botanical flavors – Grey Goose with watermelon basil essences, vermouth and basil.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Their moves come against the backdrop of a competitive primary fight for the Senate in 2026, as Paxton lodges a conservative challenge against the incumbent.—
Julia Mueller,
The Hill,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
However, looking deep into these swirling cradles of planet formation has always been tricky.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Aug. 2025
-
Now on sale for less than $20, these pumpkin cradles are a simple but genius gardening hack that lifts squashes off the ground to prevent moisture build-up that can cause rot.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
In an exclusive excerpt shared with PEOPLE, twin sisters Isabella and Sophia Strahan grabbed hearts everywhere when Isabella, at 19, was diagnosed with a brain tumor.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
-
The Grammy winner made her debut as a cherubic teen, and most recently won hearts and a trophy as Sun on The Masked Singer.—
Patrick Gomez,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Anne Morrow Lindbergh embeds wisdom and meditations on age, love, peace, solitude and fulfillment within the relaxing, picturesque setting of the sea.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Splunk’s new approach embeds agentic AI directly into Splunk Observability Cloud and Splunk AppDynamics, which continuously analyzes telemetry, flags anomalies, diagnoses root causes and recommends fixes.—
Victor Dey,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Roots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roots. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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