spates

noun

plural of spate
1
as in floods
a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms a spate of words has been published on this controversial topic

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in loads
a considerable amount an off-color remark that drew a spate of complaints from TV viewers

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 spates Markets also have been wavering from spates of heavy selling of stocks in companies linked to the boom in artificial intelligence. — ABC News, 10 June 2026 When spates of violence like that occur, Norman said the department increases patrols in that area, drawing on resources from outside the area to do so. — David Clarey, jsonline.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spates
  1. floods
  2. loads
  3. torrents
  4. dozens
  5. tons
  6. piles
  7. deals
  8. hundreds
Noun
  • The droughts, floods, and crop yield reductions brought on by El Niño represent one of the primary risk factors.
    — , CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The advancing gas front improves sweep efficiency by penetrating tight, unreached reservoir compartments that standard water-injection floods bypass during secondary extraction campaigns.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of floods
Noun
  • The size and specialized nature of these loads can also create opportunities for carriers to take on new customers and routes.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Faster speeds generally mean a compromise in quality, multi-color 3D printers often waste some filament, and higher volume loads usually demand more hardware.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of loads
Noun
  • Legitimate footage showed torrents of water sweeping through a valley.
    — Thor Benson, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Burn scars on the landscape wildfires rapidly funnel water into downslope torrents.
    — Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of torrents
Noun
  • Ross beat Secker by less than three dozen votes to become the GOP candidate in the House contest in Missouri’s 161st District.
    — Ava Kelley, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026
  • More than two dozen law enforcement officials, from crime analysts to chiefs of police, have been charged with violating their oaths of office and conducting unauthorized searches within the Flock Safety system in Georgia in the past few months.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of dozens
Noun
  • China’s grain output reached a record 715 million tons in 2025, while national plans call for increasing comprehensive grain production capacity to about 725 million tons by 2030.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
  • But by the end of the season, Bowen Byram and Power were eating tons of minutes together and helping lead the Sabres to the best record in the Atlantic Division.
    — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of tons
Noun
  • Glossy tomatoes on the vine, a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano (party favors), piles of lemons, platters of antipasti, and dishes arriving from friends’ kitchens bring more life and color to a room than anything overly decorative ever could.
    — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Their charred carcasses litter the steep lanes leading to the villages, while the houses have been reduced to nothing more than piles of smoking ashes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of piles
Noun
  • All three of those players earning big-money deals would mean Buffalo put together a nice season.
    — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Those deals include research, development, qualification work and production contracts.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of deals
Noun
  • Illinois is now tied with New Jersey for the highest property taxes in the nation, and raising commercial fair market values by hundreds of millions of dollars in a single year has told companies this is not a stable place to do business.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The company employs about 850 people, does hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure work around the Northeast, and is frequently Connecticut’s choice on big-ticket contracts to construct schools, rebuild highways or repair bridges.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of hundreds

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Cite this Entry

“Spates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spates. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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