SHELTERS Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

shelters 1 of 2

noun

plural of shelter

as in refuges

something (as a building) that offers cover from the weather or protection from danger the sudden fierce storm forced us to run to the nearest shelter

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shelters

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of shelter

as in protects

to be or provide a shelter for the abandoned barn shelters a colony of stray cats

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

exposes

as in houses

to provide with living quarters or shelter sheltered the troops in tents until permanent barracks could be built

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 shelters

Noun

The battery is designed for military vehicles, deployable tactical power systems, mobile command posts, tactical shelters and deployable weapon systems. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026 Evacuation shelters for both fires have been opened at the Carmel Mission Inn and Cambria Veterans Memorial Hall. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026 Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags moved toward beachside migrant camps last week, destroying shelters and setting fires as police attempted to keep protesters and migrants apart, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 After the war began, the education ministry offered online classes to students whose schools closed, but families in shelters often have internet problems and limited resources, Ingdal said. — ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026 Raymond’s complaint alleges Miranda continued taking dogs and collecting fees from shelters while killing some of the animals already in his care and, in some cases, falsely reporting that they had been adopted. — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026 People need to figure out what is out there, from emergency shelters to passport agencies. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 Baby2Baby reaches more than one million children across all 50 states each year in homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals and school districts, as well as to children who have lost everything in the wake of disaster. — Ethan M. Stone, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026 Fires had recently gutted parts of the camps; months later, monsoon downpours would trigger deadly landslides around its tarpaulin-and-bamboo shelters. — Lorcan Lovett, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026

Verb

Made up of vast mangrove forests, brackish marshlands, and tons of tiny islands, the refuge shelters a wide variety of animals, including American alligators and crocodiles, Florida panthers, manatees, river otters, bottle-nosed dolphins, and more than 200 species of migratory birds. — Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026 The film centers on Cheng Jun, a Chinese international student working the night shift at a 24-hour convenience store who forms an unlikely bond with a homeless elderly woman who shelters there each night. — Jenny S. Li, Variety, 15 June 2026 Rain pushes the weeds higher, then shelters them on turf too soft for the machines meant to clip them. — CBS News, 1 May 2026 Remove firewood, bricks, boards, tarps, or vegetation up against the house, which shelters insects that provide food for spiders, says Gray. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026 Though Brigitta despises him, Maria shelters him. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026 The roof of his celebrated Restaurant Mestizo, also in the capital city, is supported by huge load-bearing stones from a local quarry; his Pite House, a residence in nearby Papudo, sits nestled on a cliffside that shelters it from prevailing winds. — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026 This slime shelters symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Jan. 2026 The organization shelters about 70 dogs and 50 cats, many injured or left without owners by the war. — Tavleen Tarrant, NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelters

Noun

Such spaces create temporary refuges from the digital stream, and allow habits of slowness, concentration, and absorption to become socially reinforced.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
Two mountain refuges sit high on the plateau, giving hikers the option to spend the night surrounded by Olympus' alpine scenery.

— Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of refuges

Verb

The exhibit, which professes to illustrate storytelling through art in its earliest manifestations, is a jarring introduction to a museum that houses 1,300 original works.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
The corner site near the uber-affluent Sloane Square, in a building that also houses the British royal family’s go-to designer Emilia Wickstead, was selected to reach a concentrated local customer base.

— Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of houses

Noun

Not all portions of Grand Traverse County are open to deer hunting and some whitetails are able to grow old in those sanctuaries.

— Richard P. Smith, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
The waterfront suites with private verandahs and two-bedroom plunge pool villas are special sanctuaries.

— Baz Dreisinger, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of sanctuaries

Verb

Concertgoers are surely used to the fan archetype who camps outside the venue for hours to secure a spot along the barricade, but the lines outside Nationals Park on Wednesday didn’t hold the promise of a better view.

— Kendall Staton, Washington Post, 25 July 2026
That sounds like a figure of speech because nobody camps out overnight for tickets anymore.

— Phil Hay, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026

Definition of camps

Noun

Every season sends viewers racing to book the real-life properties featured on screen, turning secluded retreats into viral bucket-list stops overnight.

— Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 1 Sep. 2026
The Diane Weyermann Fellowshipprovides $100,000 in unrestricted funding for each project, as well as two creative retreats.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of retreats

Noun

Past its glory days, the street adopted a grimier reputation, with crime and dangerous drivers, but there was a vision to transform it into something resembling Magnolia Avenue, or one of south Fort Worth’s pedestrian havens.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
But Beijing’s recent push into high-value manufacturing poses a direct threat to those countries’ economic strategies, setting the stage for a wave of protectionism even in traditional havens of free trade.

— Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of havens

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“Shelters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelters. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shelters

noun

verb

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