SURFACES Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

surfaces 1 of 2

noun

plural of surface

as in exteriors

an outer part or layer the surface of just about everything in the kitchen was covered with soot after we put the grease fire out

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

surfaces

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of surface

as in emerges

to come to one's attention especially gradually or unexpectedly no information regarding the stolen car has surfaced since the police found it abandoned on a country road

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in rises

to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below a submarine surfaced on the starboard side of the aircraft carrier

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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 surfaces

Noun

When threatening phone calls begin and a dangerous fugitive surfaces in town, Jenny grows suspicious of everyone around her as the danger begins closing in. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2026 Their painting style—Abstract Expressionism—with its revolutionary use of physical gesture, bold images, and rich painterly surfaces made a wide sweep of the then prevailing European Cubist esthetic. — Barbara Rose, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2026 Large rubber feet keep the station planted on hard surfaces, while generous venting on both sides allows for quiet airflow. — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026 Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source. — New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026 Inspections should include checking sprinkler heads, valves, timers, and other components to ensure that water is being directed toward landscaped areas rather than pedestrian surfaces. — Christyne D. Santisteban, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026 Prism has also appeared on cars, interior surfaces and accessories, including color-changing Delvaux handbags shown in 2024. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026 In real-world tests, the hand crawled across 14 different surfaces including smooth floors, metal grates, grass, and gravel. — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2026 One of these proteins is similar to those produced by mussels that enable them to stick to surfaces like rocks. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026

Verb

Manifest surfaces Machado’s team soon learned that information about one of the charter flights had circulated outside the group. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026 The value appears when the team actually surfaces, tests and integrates what different people know. — Samuel Rodrigues, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026 Instead of a treasury analyst manually pulling payment data into a spreadsheet to spot trends, the tool surfaces patterns, opportunities and risks automatically, through dashboards and peer comparisons. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026 Quantum Metric said its VoC solution automatically surfaces sentiment, issues and trends across feedback, then ties it to prior sessions. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026 This is something that surfaces at a certain point in the film. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026 When a location's performance shifts, the data surfaces it in time to act. — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 What reads at a casual distance as serene maternal tenderness shifts, on closer inspection, into something more ambivalent—a shade of melancholy that surfaces only when the eye lingers on Mary’s face. — Carmen Rosenberg-Miller, Artforum, 6 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for surfaces

Noun

On exteriors, French Press Coffee brings a classic architectural quality to front doors, while functioning as an elevated alternative to black on shutters, garages, and trim.

— Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 1 Oct. 2026
The homes, mostly clad in wooden exteriors, none more than two stories high, are scattered along 10 miles of coastline about 100 miles north of San Francisco.

— Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of exteriors

Verb

That’s often when clarity emerges and the next right step becomes obvious.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Writer-director Reed Van Dyk’s feature debut navigates tricky emotional waters but emerges as a trenchant examination of what forgiveness and penitence can look like, allowing no room for anything resembling a pat happy ending.

— Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of emerges

Verb

As the cost of petrochemical feedstocks for virgin synthetics rises by as much as 60 percent or more, the price difference between virgin and bio-based options is getting smaller.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
As atmospheric carbon rises to levels beyond precedent in human history and consequently raises the global temperature to levels unprecedented on the human scale, the importance of places where carbon is sequestered becomes ever greater.

— Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of rises

Verb

This ghostly nature to phase through matter arises from the fact that neutrinos are completely chargeless, virtually massless, and race through the cosmos at near the speed of light, unimpeded.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Equality arises from self-interest Our study also found that although hunter-gatherers are frequently generous, the processes limiting inequality often do not require any generosity.

— Christopher von Rueden, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of arises

Verb

The Draconids are the result of Earth intersecting with a trail from the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, and occurs in October each year when the planet nears the comet’s orbit.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
The work focuses on a loss mechanism known as Boltzmann loss, which occurs because a material that absorbs light can also emit it.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of occurs

Verb

The Technion team approached the problem by rethinking what happens on the other side of the electrolysis process.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026
What happens next could impact thousands of residents, farmers, commercial interests and property owners.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of happens

Verb

There is a lot of money in the market, but some of it appears to be receding and the number of commissions is coming down.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
And because of the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act passed earlier this year, the company appears to be on track to have taxpayers foot the bill.

— H. Gilbert Welch, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of appears

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“Surfaces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surfaces. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of surfaces

noun

verb

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