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Recent Examples of sprays
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
The man asks for his Shalimar perfume, sprays himself and lies down on the floor.
—Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026
Trapped in a prickly relationship with a cactus, his life changes overnight when Swift sprays herself with Opalite and is magically transported into his living room.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
Tired of the constant cuts, Gleeson orders Opalite and sprays his cactus, causing Swift to magically appear in his house.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Feb. 2026
Pretti steps between them, and the officer sprays him with a chemical spray.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 25 Jan. 2026
The agent sprays Pretti with a chemical irritant and drags him to his knees as Pretti pulls at the backpack of the other bystander, potentially reaching for a water bottle.
—Thomas Bordeaux, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
Appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers last night, Coon told the talk host that the trouble started during the Wednesday, January 7, matinee performance during a scene in which Coon sprays fake blood up her nose to simulate a nose bleed from a violent encounter.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
The muzzle of the machine gun flares in the night as the man sprays automatic fire.
—Marin Scott, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
To make new plantings a little more pest-proof, experiment with repellent sprays, like putrid egg solids, hot pepper spray, and humanely sourced predator spray.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Nov. 2025
Although products may be available in dust, granular form or sprays, choose a spray to get the best coverage on the leaf surface.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
Orange County sprays herbicides to eradicate vegetation in flood control channels.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
The man asks for his Shalimar perfume, sprays himself and lies down on the floor.
—Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026
Trapped in a prickly relationship with a cactus, his life changes overnight when Swift sprays herself with Opalite and is magically transported into his living room.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
Tired of the constant cuts, Gleeson orders Opalite and sprays his cactus, causing Swift to magically appear in his house.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Feb. 2026
Pretti steps between them, and the officer sprays him with a chemical spray.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 25 Jan. 2026
The agent sprays Pretti with a chemical irritant and drags him to his knees as Pretti pulls at the backpack of the other bystander, potentially reaching for a water bottle.
—Thomas Bordeaux, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
Appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers last night, Coon told the talk host that the trouble started during the Wednesday, January 7, matinee performance during a scene in which Coon sprays fake blood up her nose to simulate a nose bleed from a violent encounter.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
The muzzle of the machine gun flares in the night as the man sprays automatic fire.
—Marin Scott, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
Noun
These are what Brown calls paint sprays and spray threes, two of Brown’s foundational principles of the new-look, high-octane Knicks offense.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
To make new plantings a little more pest-proof, experiment with repellent sprays, like putrid egg solids, hot pepper spray, and humanely sourced predator spray.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Nov. 2025
Although products may be available in dust, granular form or sprays, choose a spray to get the best coverage on the leaf surface.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprays
Verb
-
Groff sprinkles this punchy, athletic syntax over a slew of intricate settings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Much like Knives Out, the movie takes a much more lighthearted approach and sprinkles humor throughout.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
And at that point, ushered into the floating mists of non-consensus with murmurings of political unease regarding content or intellectual befuddlement regarding style, the briefly sighted, singular beast of language vanishes from the visible landscape.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Outside the summer months, the weather can turn quickly, and sudden mists, even snow, can complicate matters.—
Paul Richardson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
While decorative garlands and fresh flowers are a great way to spruce up your space, a seasonal wreath full of vibrant florals can transform your doorway and entryway (or mantel and fireplace).—
Jamie Weissman,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Paper garlands of foldable lanterns and honeycomb fruit from 1950s Japan and Denmark dangle over a British Art Deco carpet in a cool green that both Emily and Aaron adore.—
Robert Sullivan,
Vogue,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Barnett dots up Knight for a 57-yard catch-and-run.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Rather than the stiff alien chitchat that dots his own screenplays, the characters in The Favourite trade the witty, venomous bon mots of The Great creator Tony McNamara.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Dallas Mavericks guard Brandon Williams (10) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game at American Airlines Center, Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Dallas.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Mar. 2026
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Pruning Practices All tomato plants benefit from pruning to keep the leaves off the ground, eliminate sucker shoots to increase energy for fruit production, and to open the plant for good air circulation.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Denying that their output is propaganda & amplifying their messaging spits in the face of those murdered on Oct 7th & props up the Hamas terror regime that continues to punish its own people.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Naked people are collared, bound, prodded, whipped, ridden like horses, roasted over spits.—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Instead, each child interacts only with a sophisticated artificial intelligence, which peppers them with questions about everything from mathematics to philosophy.—
Niral Shah,
The Conversation,
15 Dec. 2025
-
Instead, the original body features a patina that peppers its exterior and is a point of celebration, preserved and maintained for true uniqueness.—
Peter Nelson,
Robb Report,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That’s because flushes are spread out and not condensed in one area.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The golden, semi-double flowers cover the tidy, compact plant through multiple flushes from spring to fall.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sprays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprays. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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