swales

noun

plural of swale
as in wetlands

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swales
  1. wetlands
  2. marshes
  3. sloughs
  4. bogs
  5. swamps
  6. fens
  7. marshlands
  8. swamplands
Noun
  • The wetlands commission could decide on the application as soon as this week.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The project would develop warehouses and associated infrastructure, and the area is currently cropland, woodlands and wetlands.
    — Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of wetlands
Noun
  • Smaller marshes are proposed at the Tecolote Creek outfall and at East Shores south of the visitor center.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
  • North American river otters live in rivers, lakes, streams, marshes and on seacoasts, according to the conservation group River Otter Ecology Project.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of marshes
Noun
  • Brannan Island State Recreation Area Located near the eastern end of the maze of rivers and sloughs that make up the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
    — Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado July 14, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
  • They're mostly found in the swamps, sloughs, wetlands, and drainage ditches of the western coastal plain, and are occasionally found around rivers and lakes.
    — Jack Armstrong, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 3 June 2026
Definition of sloughs
Noun
  • Wildfires are flaring across France, the United Kingdom and Germany as an intense European heat wave turns forests and peat bogs tinder-dry, gutting homes and triggering mass evacuations and international air support.
    — Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • During this time, bogs, marshes, and other wetlands, historically seen as disease-ridden and deleterious to human health, were reevaluated by scientists and conservationists as valuable wildlife habitats.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026
Definition of bogs
Noun
  • Flash flooding swamps Henry County Aubrey Wright Commissioner Steve Dellinger said Henry County is probably looking at record rainfall and flooding.
    — Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2026
  • But bad ideas are like those Hollywood horror movies in which monsters always reemerge from the swamps to terrorize us again.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of swamps
Noun
  • Commoners relied on swamps, fens, forests, and heaths for fuel, gravel, stone, and wood to make tools and to build and repair houses.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Bogs and fens are areas that accumulate peat – deposits of dead and partly decomposed plant materials that form organic-rich soil.
    — Jon Sweetman, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2022
Definition of fens
Noun
  • During most of the year, merlins inhabit open country ranging from marshlands to deserts, but many breed in conifer and birch woods.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Cane toads were native to Central America, dwelling in marshlands and swamps.
    — Kimon de Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of marshlands
Noun
  • As with her earlier work, ecotourism will be a crucial component of conserving these feral swamplands and dry tropical forests at the heart of South America.
    — The Editors, Outside, 18 Mar. 2026
  • In the 1950s, land reclamation transformed former swamplands and a typhoon shelter into today’s Victoria Park and Causeway Bay.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Feb. 2026
Definition of swamplands
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.

Browse Nearby Words

swale
swales
swallow
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Swales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swales. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tilde

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All