STONES Synonyms: 35 Similar and Opposite Words

stones 1 of 2

noun

plural of stone

as in tombstones

a shaped stone laid over or erected near a grave and usually bearing an inscription to identify and preserve the memory of the deceased an engraved stone identified the grave as that of a man who had died in the Influenza Epidemic of 1918-19

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

stones

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stone

as in sharpens

to make sharp or sharper the diorama showed a villager stoning a scythe

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 stones

Noun

Unlike the blue plaques affixed to residences in London, which indicate where notable figures once lived, or the Stolpersteine (or stumbling stones) embedded in the sidewalks of German cities to mark the former homes of Holocaust victims, Bucharest’s red disks are not commemorative but predictive. —

Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 The Secret Garden necklace, inlaid with onyx, also includes a smattering of smaller diamond, emerald, and purple sapphire stones. —

Hannah Malach, InStyle, 13 Apr. 2026 Avocado pits, peach stones, and other hard fruit cores are far too tough for your disposal’s blades and can cause serious damage. —

Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 12 Apr. 2026 To solarize, lay a piece of clear plastic over the patch and secure it with stones, bricks, or staples. —

Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2026 This often meant using classical design principles like restraint, order and geometric harmony, and adapting them by either simplifying the elements or using locally available materials instead of the expensive marble and other stones favored by the ancients. —

Kevin D. Murphy, The Conversation, 10 Apr. 2026 Tuck in Herbs Add creeping thyme between stepping stones for a fragrant ground cover. —

Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2026 The rocks were then used to construct buildings, walls and walkways, and some were placed on the Alum Fork Dam for riprap (stones thrown together without order to form a wall). —

Arkansas Online, 4 Apr. 2026 Zendaya opted to wear the silk architectural column gown (featuring a plunging neckline of onyx stones) that Blanchett, 56, most recently wore to the Venice Film Festival in 2025 for the premiere of La Grazia. —

Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stones

Noun

In 1975, the museum purchased his work Georgia Gate, a structure of fluidly bent pine staves inspired by photos of Georgia tombstones the artist saw in musicologist Marshall Stearns’s 1970 book The Story of Jazz.

— News Desk, Artforum, 8 Mar. 2026
Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance to offer rewards for information involving theft of city plaques, tombstones, statues, light standards, and copper wire, and theft of metals linked to the Sixth Street Bridge.

— City News Service, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026