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
  • Dessert brings homemade gulab jamun and cardamom sticky toffee cake, which Gurjar floods with caramel and finishes with flaky salt.
    — Mehr Singh, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Last month, rains described as the heaviest in more than 80 years caused severe floods in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, and left eight people dead.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of floods
Noun
  • Cranes lift 200-ton loads at mountain bridge site The R4300-200 has a maximum lifting capacity of 200 metric tons (220 US tons) and an 80-meter jib (262 feet).
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Its remaining civil rights workers have described untenable case loads and pressure to dismiss complaints.
    — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of loads
Noun
  • Remember Popcorn Time, the app that served as an easy-to-use front end for streaming torrents of movies and TV shows?
    — Stevie Bonifield, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026
  • There was also a time when leadership halted, then resumed, downloading torrents sourced from Anna’s Archive, another staffer testified.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of torrents
Noun
  • Meanwhile, bedside control panels—available in nearly a dozen languages—operate lighting, curtains, TVs, and room service orders.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The high court’s current term already features 33 cases, with the justices expected to take up roughly two to three dozen more cases for oral argument before the term concludes at the end of June.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of dozens
Noun
  • The effect is something like an off-season approximation of a sidewalk, and, your winter climate permitting, sidewalk chalk (tons of it, for $18) is another good option.
    — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The natural gas storage well failed and uncontrollably released nearly 100,000 tons of methane and other substances into the atmosphere for more than 100 days.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of tons
Noun
  • In Alexandra township, where the road to the River Park Library voting station is filled with potholes, leaking sewage and piles of uncollected waste on the sidewalks, many still came out to cast their ballot.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Tech stocks have sagged as investors grow concerned over their ballooning debt piles at a time of rising interest rates.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of piles
Noun
  • Methodology Sportico estimated off-court earnings for the 2026-27 season through conversations with those familiar with NBA endorsement deals.
    — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 5 Nov. 2026
  • But Democratic senators have pointed to the involvement of Cantor Fitzgerald in a number of those deals as cause for concern.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of deals
Noun
  • The Illinois State Board of Elections removed both from the ballot, finding them hundreds of valid signatures short.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The takeover left millions of customers' savings and hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds in limbo.
    — EMILIO SANABRIA, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 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 8 Nov. 2026.

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