STRETCHES Synonyms: 207 Similar and Opposite Words

stretches 1 of 2

noun

plural of stretch

as in expanses

a wide space or area a narrow stretch of beach below the cliffs

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Relevance

as in whiles

an indefinite but usually short period of time there was a cardinal at our bird feeder for a short stretch last spring

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as in ranges

the distance or extent between possible extremes the stories were written over a considerable stretch of time

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as in distances

the space or amount of space between two points, lines, surfaces, or objects the longest stretch of the drive without any place to get gas

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stretches

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stretch

as in exaggerates

to add to the interest of by including made-up details it was stretching the truth to say she'd been in the movies: she was once an extra whose scene was cut in the final version

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pulls

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure I stretched a back muscle, and the pain is killing me

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as in lengthens

to make longer the time it would take to fix the car got stretched from three hours to two days when the part we needed had to be ordered

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as in tries

to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress your whining is stretching my patience to the limit

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as in tightens

to draw tight if the canvas isn't properly stretched over the frame, there will be sagging over time

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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 stretches

Noun

Will McDonald has three sacks but has gone quiet for stretches. — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026 Dubai has built more than 557 kilometers of cycle tracks, with a goal of 1,000 kilometers by 2030, and the urban planning department is adding shaded walking routes to make exercise feasible for longer stretches of the year. — Scott Campbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026 Tonight’s nine-game NBA Cup slate kicks off one of the best four-day stretches on the sports calendar. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026 The freeway at Hospital Curve, one of the busiest stretches of roadway in the Bay Area, had been closed on three previous weekends over the last two months. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026 Gordon has been the only starter to play with the second unit for stretches at a time, slotting in at power forward next to Marvin Bagley III. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2026 The route passes through neighborhoods including NoDa and Plaza Midwood, offering lively pockets of support but also quieter stretches, awkward turns and hills that can feel particularly unforgiving late in the race. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2026 That band encompasses much of Central and South America, Central Africa, southern India, Southeast Asia and northern Australia, as well as vast stretches of ocean. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2026 Sometimes the family stayed in their car, but the girls were also left for long stretches with various friends of their mom’s. — Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026

Verb

The Kamiński/Spielberg collaboration, which now stretches over 30 years and more than 20 films, has to count as one of the most significant artistic collaborations in American cinema history. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Nov. 2026 This year’s 24-film lineup stretches well beyond Monroe’s own filmography. — Ben Croll, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026 ApusNeo ditches the rear wing, Stratsilatau says, and stretches the remaining one. — New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026 The walk hits saltwater in the 34th District, which stretches from Corpus Christi to Brownsville and was one of five districts Republicans went after in redistricting. — Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2026 The final stop on the circuit is Karaman-Ata, where a seven-hectare necropolis stretches across a low, open plot of desert dotted with funerary monuments, some more than 1,000 years old. — Avantika Chaturvedi, Architectural Digest, 5 Nov. 2026 Don’t Take Life Too Cereus My shadow stretches across the pavement and onto the pale gray stone of the Mississippi Department of History and Archives. — Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026 The Muppets are playing a holiday set on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Jollywood Nights stretches into January for the first time, and EPCOT’s Candlelight Processional adds five new narrators. — Jacqueline Dole, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2026 The district, which includes much of the city’s Northwest Side, stretches to parts of suburban Cook and DuPage counties, including Elk Grove Village, Addison, Bartlett and West Chicago. — Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stretches

Noun

Foliage rustles in the autumn wind here, and where there aren’t corn husks swaying, there are flat, lonely expanses of dirt where crops have been harvested.

— Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
A lot of buildings and fields and parks and cafés and expanses of water and elevators and on-ramps and curbsides.

— Madeline ffitch, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of expanses

Noun

Limiting the spending ranges of teams should make the league inherently more fair, according to MLB executives.

— Alex Sherman, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026
The trials focused on evaluating the ASGARD system’s capabilities against different types of unmanned aerial threats at short and medium ranges.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of ranges

Noun

The system will use ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to measure distances and angles to the beacons.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Nov. 2026
Finally, at such great distances and with such a small separation between the two supermassive black holes, the individual members of a quasar pair are hard to individually resolve.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of distances

Verb

Critics, however, argue that the film exaggerates the Warrens’ involvement.

— Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2026
Armour points to two recent plays, one involving Chelsea Gray and another involving Kiah Stokes, as proof that Clark exaggerates contact and creates false narratives about opposing players.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of exaggerates

Verb

During meiosis, a structure called the spindle forms, which lines the chromosomes up and eventually pulls them apart.

— Megan Molteni, STAT, 2 Nov. 2026
The question of who pulls more cross-over voters and independents could determine whether Democrats win back any significant power in Tallahassee.

— Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of pulls

Verb

The formula pairs glycerin and flexible polymers to coat and define every lash without weighing them down, while the dual-length brush prevents clumps and lengthens from root to tip.

— Madison San Miguel, Allure, 15 Oct. 2026
Aerohart also lengthens the Aviator's Ember to give users more leverage in plunging the piston.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of lengthens

Verb

By that logic, anyone who tries to disrupt a college football fan's Saturday should be seen as someone whose views are incongruent with the hardcore fan's, even if their intentions are pure.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
In the process, a family tries to come to the aid of its ailing matriarch, presented with only a series of unappealing options, each more unbearable than the next.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026