as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience
there's an old saying that you should let sleeping dogs lie
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in telling
to express (a thought or emotion) in words
why don't you just say what's on your mind?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in expressing
to convey in appropriate or telling terms
I'm not quite sure how to say this, but that's the worst essay I've ever read
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in reciting
to give from memory
say your prayers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in assuming
to take as true or as a fact without actual proof
let's say, for the sake of argument, that this is true
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of saying
Jake Angelo, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 27 Apr. 2026
Kim Chandler, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026
Blahunka pushed back on that, saying the lease goes until summer 2029 — which township staff confirmed — meaning the resolution will go before the community several more times before the lease expires.
—Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for saying
Noun
The problem is that the future, to paraphrase a common saying, is like a foreign country.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 27 Apr. 2026
Verb
Trump on Sunday encouraged more states to join in redistricting, saying in a social media post that Republicans could gain 20 House seats.
—Kim Chandler, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026
Blahunka pushed back on that, saying the lease goes until summer 2029 — which township staff confirmed — meaning the resolution will go before the community several more times before the lease expires.
—Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for saying
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saying
Noun
-
What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Like Flores and Natal, Kaik found that the company, York Service & Towing, would only take cash, telling her that sometimes, people would pay with a credit card then cancel the card before payment went through.—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Shortly after telling her to contact security, Alvarez arrived upstairs.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That can show up as emotional suppression, difficulty naming or expressing needs, chronic stress or a sense that vulnerability is unsafe.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 May 2026
-
Women’s interests have long been considered frivolous—especially if such interests involve expressing emotion; talking about their feelings with each other; or navigating status and power outside of, or in direct opposition to, their relationships with straight men.—
Daisy Jones,
Vogue,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Hansard found himself in Dublin City, hanging out with writers like Seamus Heaney, directors like Jim Sheridan, and listening to Paul Meehan reciting poetry in a basement.—
Charles Moss,
SPIN,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The project has gained attention far beyond the synagogue’s walls, and elicited a range of mourning practices that go beyond reciting the traditional prayer.—
Stewart Ain,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
With a razor-thin majority, the Speaker can afford to lose only two GOP votes on any party-line bill, assuming that all members are present and Democrats are united in opposition.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Providers also can fall victim to inadvertent bias, assuming a young, otherwise healthy patient must be dealing with something other than shingles.—
Alyssa Sparacino,
Glamour,
27 Apr. 2026
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 aspiration gap, in other words, is not just a story about young adults falling behind their parents.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
Pharoah, best known for being a cast member of Saturday Night Live between 2010-2016, had been talking to Fox for a while about hosting a show.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
4 May 2026
-
Barack Obama liked talking to The New Yorker’s David Remnick.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Our own shopping director, Rachel Fletcher, can attest to Farm Girl’s long-lasting petals, stating that her own peonies lasted nearly ten glorious days.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
1 May 2026
-
Five of the six flew just in April, with Space Launch Delta 45 stating that was a record that beat the four different orbital rocket types flown in February 1965 and July 1966.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Saying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saying. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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