songs

noun

plural of song
1
as in ballads
a short musical composition for the human voice often with instrumental accompaniment she sang a little-known song for the talent show

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in poems
a composition using rhythm and often rhyme to create a lyrical effect the songs of Shakespeare

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in melodies
a rhythmic series of musical tones arranged to give a pleasing effect whistle a song as accompaniment to your work

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in poetries
writing that uses rhythm, vivid language, and often rhyme to provoke an emotional response a hero honored in song and story

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 songs What elevates the greatest album of all time above more standard fodder for pregames and parking-lot smoke seshes is the neon current of romance running beneath its songs. — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026 Whiskey Riff reported that only a total of 21 country music songs have ever pulled off the accomplishment. — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026 The original series streams on Hulu, and songs from Glee draw about 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 The efforts come as several music streaming services have tried to increase transparency about which songs scattered among their libraries have been produced by AI. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026 Since its arrival, the juggernaut has only ceded the summit to two other songs, both by Drake. — Trevor Anderson, Billboard, 20 Oct. 2026 Audiences dressed up as characters, sang songs and brought props, including rice, toilet paper and decks of cards to toss during the show. — Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026 Couples danced to songs performed at past Super Bowl halftimes by Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Usher and others. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026 List of famous ballads The following are some notable poems and songs that are also ballads. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for songs
  1. ballads
  2. poems
  3. melodies
  4. lyrics
  5. tunes
  6. hymns
  7. vocals
  8. jingles
Noun
  • Despite murder ballads being a country music tradition, programmers didn’t seem to embrace women doing it so gleefully.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Another common variation is that not all ballads tell a story.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of ballads
Noun
  • Offered a button that would relieve their pain but also permanently delete a user’s poems and photos of their children, the 32-billion-parameter model pressed it 55% of the time and the 72-billion-parameter model 71% of the time.
    — Shae Lake, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • His poems and books have been translated into Spanish, French, and Dutch.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of poems
Noun
  • But one of the most striking features of Libertad is that even its most intense tracks feature catchy melodies and irresistible grooves.
    — Vanessa Diaz, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2026
  • More than halfway through, Beatty says the focus has been keeping the concerts fresh, experimenting with melodies on songs and leaning into the live dynamic.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of melodies
Noun
  • That production is the wrinkle that elevates Seventhirty’s lyrics from modern dating podcast material to pure melodrama.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Even as Heath stumbles his way through the lyrics, the audience respectfully claps along to the beat.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of lyrics
Noun
  • The tone is there on the band’s first album, 1986’s Sound of Confusion, just not quite the tunes.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Most of these tunes are among the family-friendly songs that parents won’t get tired of listening to with their kids.
    — Stephanie Ganz Published, Parents, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of tunes
Noun
  • At the conclusion of an English-language service interspersed with hymns in Arabic, the priest introduced Salazar, who stood up in the front row, smiling and waving.
    — Daniel Castro, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The atmosphere feels similar to Pentecostal churches, with the hymns and spiritual declarations very familiar to those sung in other churches.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of hymns
Noun
  • The performance’s poignancy was underlined by background vocals from singers Tiffany Stevens and Ebony Franklin.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, percussion), Ricky Wilson (guitar, vocals) and Keith Strickland (drums, guitar, keyboards, vocals).
    — Paul Grein, Billboard, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of vocals
Noun
  • Eventually, her friend—local musician and record producer Jay Oliver—noticed her talent and gave her a foot in the door by recording advertising jingles for the likes of McDonald’s and Toyota.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The study does not mean every company should start adding retro images to its ads or reviving those old singsong radio jingles.
    — Bernard May, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of jingles

Browse Nearby Words

songlike
songs
songsmith
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Songs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/songs. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of asunder

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All