as in guardians
a person or group that watches over someone or something
a lone sentinel kept watch over the fort
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sentinels
Bells are then honored as vital sentinels during floods, crying out that the barricades have given way.
—
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
And for decades, billboards with Smart’s smiling face stood like sentinels along Highway 101, silently urging anyone with information to come forward.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Precedent for this idea comes from Poland, where many cities already use freshwater mussels as living sentinels of water quality, wired with sensors that register when the animals clamp their shells shut in response to pollutants.
—IEEE Spectrum, 31 Mar. 2026
That majestic array of green-gray gneiss sentinels may be the most conceptually elaborate Neolithic monument in Europe.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Arizona’s iconic saguaro cactuses seem like immobile sentinels standing watch over the Sonoran desert landscape.
—John Leos, AZCentral.com, 10 Nov. 2025
By removing friction, letting AI handle the heavy lifting and investing in modern SAT/PST, leaders transform reluctant users into proactive sentinels.
—Eyal Benishti, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The satellite, Space Weather Follow-On L1 (SWFO-L1), is launching just in time, as scientists warn our aging fleet of solar sentinels is reaching the end of its life.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The sentinels of conventional wisdom settled on the view that the Iraq invasion was one of the great own goals of American foreign policy, and that its beneficiary was Iran.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
And for decades, billboards with Smart’s smiling face stood like sentinels along Highway 101, silently urging anyone with information to come forward.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Precedent for this idea comes from Poland, where many cities already use freshwater mussels as living sentinels of water quality, wired with sensors that register when the animals clamp their shells shut in response to pollutants.
—IEEE Spectrum, 31 Mar. 2026
That majestic array of green-gray gneiss sentinels may be the most conceptually elaborate Neolithic monument in Europe.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Arizona’s iconic saguaro cactuses seem like immobile sentinels standing watch over the Sonoran desert landscape.
—John Leos, AZCentral.com, 10 Nov. 2025
By removing friction, letting AI handle the heavy lifting and investing in modern SAT/PST, leaders transform reluctant users into proactive sentinels.
—Eyal Benishti, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The satellite, Space Weather Follow-On L1 (SWFO-L1), is launching just in time, as scientists warn our aging fleet of solar sentinels is reaching the end of its life.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The sentinels of conventional wisdom settled on the view that the Iraq invasion was one of the great own goals of American foreign policy, and that its beneficiary was Iran.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentinels
Noun
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Many of them will issue travel documents or approve custody decisions for a child only with the consent of all of their legal guardians, which is difficult to secure if one or both parents have been deported.—
Caitlin Dickerson,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2026
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Depending on the nature of the concern, that may include wellness checks, threat assessment protocols, student support interventions, disciplinary processes, safety planning, or coordination with parents and guardians.—
Karen Morfitt,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
For contusions, wear your shin guards.—
Nicole Williams,
AJC.com,
18 May 2026
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Mazda also offers a broad selection of optional extras, including multiple paint finishes, different alloy wheel designs, styling packs and practical accessories such as bike carriers, dog guards and roof storage solutions.—
Matthew MacConnell,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
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The continuing onboarding and deployment of tokenized securities introduces several accounting and reporting questions for public companies, broker-dealers, custodians, and auditors.—
Sean Stein Smith,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
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The money can be invested only in American companies, and parents are the account’s custodians until their child turns 18.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
Noun
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Both keepers had one save in a scoreless first half.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
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Shera, a female African lion, died Thursday at the National Zoo in Washington after suffering a decline in mobility and being euthanized by keepers at the facility.—
Dana Hedgpeth,
Washington Post,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The juvenile bear’s wander across campus late Thursday and early Friday prompted an advisory to students and a search by UC Davis police and wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as Yolo County Animal Control.—
Allison Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2026
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The state wardens and other cops who knew and worked with Bob Markle weren’t just honoring his memory by attending his funeral.—
Dave Duffey,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The soldiers would have stayed as sentries before and after the performance, symbolically guarding the legacy of Taiwan’s founder.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
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Police had taped off several square blocks around Sixth Street, while local police and federal authorities, including Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, were at the site, according to Austin police officers serving as sentries.—
Jack Myer,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Ideas like reparative journalism and sousveillance — an antonym for surveillance, concerning watching the watchmen in a reversal of power — earn fleeting mentions, but are never the focus of actual inquiry.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sentinels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentinels. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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