SAYS Synonyms: 176 Similar and Opposite Words

says 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of say

as in tells

to express (a thought or emotion) in words why don't you just say what's on your mind?

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Relevance

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as in expresses

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

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as in recites

to give from memory say your prayers

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reads

as in assumes

to take as true or as a fact without actual proof let's say, for the sake of argument, that this is true

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says

2 of 2

noun

plural of say

as in shares

the right to express a wish, choice, or opinion even if they decide otherwise, at least I had my say

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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 says

Verb

The number of products deployed or dollars spent says little about an organization’s ability to withstand an attack. — Shane Buckley, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026 The suit says La Strada twice raised concerns with Hoskins, but his Capitol security badge then was deactivated before a hearing in the case and he was fired effective May 1. — Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026 Going forward, Gurman says Apple could use Beats for more products that don’t get Apple’s premium materials, design language, or pricing, making gaming controllers a natural fit for the subsidiary brand. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026 In fact, Zwick says, since the 1980s, pass-through businesses have accounted for more than half of the rise in the top one percent's share of income. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026 However, Iraola says problems with his side’s pressing contributed to their failure to create chances. — James Pearce, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 The Alliance’s impact also remains small compared with the roughly 360 million metric tons of plastic waste the report says the world generates each year. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026 Netflix says the films will be offered with subtitles in as many as six languages, depending on the territory. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026 Thea Energy says Helios remains on track to begin operating in the 2030s. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026

Noun

The idea, Was says, was to focus on Weir’s songs and the characters in them rather than on the jammy side of the Dead. — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 17 Feb. 2026 It was given a 60 percent chance of cyclone formation through seven says—a 10- percentage-point increase over the previous day. — Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025 But today, the 42-year-old says, time would be better spent studying a more niche topic intertwined with AI, like AI for biology—or maybe not a degree at all. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for says

Verb

Before dinner, Nathan tells her about the new anchor watch schedule.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
An acquaintance who buys and sells movie props tells them that the boots are worth at least fifteen hundred dollars—a tenfold return on their investment.

— David Owen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of tells

Verb

Meanwhile, Belinda expresses interest in acting and dance but also doesn’t want to leave the countryside.

— Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
Likewise, when a veteran employee expresses hesitation about a new operational structure, do not label them as resistant to change.

— Kent Ingle, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of expresses

Verb

Basic infrastructure, something everything else assumes is there and arguably closer to a right than a product.

— Satya Vandrangi, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
The Hulu sports comedy stars Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, a disgraced former college football star who assumes the fake identity of Chad Powers — donning prosthetics and all — to have a second chance at a football career.

— Francesca Gariano, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of assumes

Verb

In Japanese, the hero utters the name of the series to a villain in a parting one liner.

— Gene Park, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2026
At the film’s end, Abbie Cornish as Fanny hears secondhand about Keats’s death and utters a cry that is almost too much to bear — a cry that feels too real.

— Sarah Chihaya, Vulture, 16 July 2026

Definition of utters

Verb

Having receiver Cam Coleman opposite Ryan Wingo puts opposing secondaries between a rock and a hard place, because double-teaming one can result in the other going off.

— The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
That puts the network front and center, and it must be engineered as a first-class part of the architecture, rather than ordered last.

— Ido Susan, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026