1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

turkeys

noun

plural of turkey
1
as in geese
a person who lacks good sense or judgment only a turkey would think it's a good idea to go for a jog when the weather drops below zero

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiots
a stupid person you turkey, that wasn't my boyfriend—it was my brother!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in disasters
something that has failed his business venture ended up being a turkey, and he lost quite a bit of money on it

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 turkeys Both deer and turkeys can be hunted on Sundays on private land only. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 15 Sep. 2026 Hanson says that realization led to his support of after-school programs and a decades-long tradition of buying and distributing Thanksgiving turkeys at the Hollenbeck Youth Center in Boyle Heights. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 Some of that was due to the outbreak of Avian metapneumovirus in turkeys and chickens and bird flu, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). — Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026 She’s loved by her family of humans (the Osteens) and other farm animals (including Elsie the cow; goats Honey, Dolly, Roger, Polly and Dodger; and Tom, the king of the turkeys who stalks around his enclosure like a pharaoh). — Emily L. Mahoney, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026 Hickey is also accused of helping three other people illegally harvest turkeys. — Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 21 Aug. 2026 Stephanie Magallon, the utility’s regional communications representative confirmed there had been six outages since July — and the cause was wild turkeys. — Kathe Tanner, Sacbee.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Jimmy Kimmel's hunch helps with final question The last question posed the biggest challenge for Ding, but thankfully Kimmel had an inkling about turkeys that hadn’t received presidential pardons. — Erin Jensen, USA Today, 30 July 2026 The students and club members raise cows, goats, lambs, hogs, turkeys and more, spending hours feeding and training them daily and preparing them for showing. — Heather McRea, Oc Register, 25 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turkeys
  1. geese
  2. idiots
  3. disasters
  4. lunatics
  5. morons
  6. failures
  7. nuts
  8. bombs
Noun
  • Its words were shaped by quills fashioned from the feathers of molting geese.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Genzel grew up chasing mallards and Canada geese in the Illinois River Valley.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of geese
Noun
  • That's the continous nonsense these idiots provide to a website like OutKick.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Tallahassee lawmakers must think their constituents are idiots.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of idiots
Noun
  • If college is defined by unbelievable disasters that become lifelong stories, then this singular tale of friendship is forged in the aftermath of connecting through a very public mistake.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Deforestation contributes to erosion, damages biodiverse areas, threatens wildlife and humans who rely on the forest, and intensifies disasters from extreme weather.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of disasters
Noun
  • Republicans see an opportunity here, portraying progressive and socialist Democrats as lunatics and communists.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • While sane Americans were celebrating the MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the lunatics in Portland, Oregon were cheering along as two men made out on a baseball field during a 'Heated Rivalry' theme night.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of lunatics
Noun
  • There are complicated brain-chemistry factors involved that have to do with testosterone, and dopaminergic systems, and kappa-opioid receptors, all of which seem to add up to a Jim Gaffigan joke about how men are morons compared with their wives.
    — McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
Definition of morons
Noun
  • Alpha has achieved several successful launches, but setbacks and failures have kept Firefly from establishing a routine launch cadence.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The convention, a novelty that doesn’t involve the party business typical of a gathering in a presidential year, is expected to contrast what the party sees as GOP wins, with Trump at the helm, against Democratic failures.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of failures
Noun
  • My pungent plateful grew in strength from tomme to Shropshire blue, accompanied by crusty bread, fruit and nuts.
    — Adrienne Wyper, TheWeek, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Poblano peppers are charred and peeled, then stuffed with picadillo, a mix of ground beef, spices, nuts and seasonal fruits such as pears and apples.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of nuts
Noun
  • Tests of nuclear bombs, such as those conducted in Nevada during the Cold War, have long been known to cause small, detectable earthquakes.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The 2,000-pound bombs have been employed by Israel on hundreds of occasions in Gaza and Lebanon, playing a significant role in the death toll of those conflicts.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of bombs

Browse Nearby Words

turkey
turkeys
turmoil
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turkeys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turkeys. Accessed 21 Sep. 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 elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
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
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All