behaves

verb

present tense third-person singular of behave
as in carries
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way if the children behave themselves properly and sit quietly during church, they'll get their ice cream afterward

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 behaves Deep underground salt behaves like a slow-moving plastic under the weight of the earth (salt creep). — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 Leave it in its normal mode and the SQ5 behaves like a civilized luxury crossover. — New Atlas, 22 Aug. 2026 If a coyote behaves aggressively or poses an immediate threat to people, move to a safe location and call 911. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026 Still, Luria sees Micron as particularly well positioned because of its exposure to HBM, which is becoming more critical to AI computing and no longer behaves like the commodity memory of the past. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026 That connection could give advanced software a more realistic understanding of how a specific nuclear plant behaves. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026 Yet many users rarely revisit their settings after the initial setup, even as apps, software updates and changing habits can affect what data is collected, which features have access to it and how the device behaves. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 That adaptability is important because the researchers found that traditional deterministic planning works well when everything behaves exactly as expected. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Nevertheless, the memo presents a dramatic departure from the way America's private sector currently behaves in cyberspace. — Henry Larson, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behaves
  1. carries
  2. acquits
  3. conducts
  4. handles
  5. composes
  6. restrains
  7. contains
Verb
  • Out back, a single monoshock is mounted to the massive single-sided swingarm that carries the solo rear wheel shod in a wiiiide 305/30R20 Kenda meat.
    — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Brooks ran for 106 yards on 27 carries last season while contributing primarily on special teams.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of carries
Verb
  • That said, the older chip in the Ultra 3 acquits itself admirably.
    — Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 26 July 2026
  • In the proud lineage of pint-sized blonde women who’ve held their own against Madonna, Carpenter acquits herself quite well.
    — Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 1 May 2026
Definition of acquits
Verb
  • Along with expanding the baby box program across the United States, Kelsey conducts trainings for firefighters, police and other first responders on how to navigate any surrender scenario.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • There’s still no resolution involving multiple El Camino Real coaches escorted off campus while the school conducts an investigation as to why their CPR and first-aid cards weren’t showing up in the Red Cross database.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of conducts
Verb
  • Taylor Farms works with hundreds of family farms for its produce and handles processing, packaging and distribution itself.
    — Brandon Gomez, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • As a private entity, LifeWise handles its program independently, including parent opt-ins, locations, scheduling and student transportation.
    — Kelsy Mittauer, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of handles
Verb
  • The man composes his responses with the help of a manual that instructs him on which incoming string of Chinese characters should be answered with which other string of Chinese characters.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Agent authority composes dynamically.
    — Harsh Singhal, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Definition of composes
Verb
  • On that same front, Hoffman’s order restrains the NCAA from enforcing the rule of restitution.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Elsewhere on the canvas, Cassatt restrains herself to match Katherine’s discipline.
    — Carmen Rosenberg-Miller, Artforum, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of restrains
Verb
  • Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, Palal argued that names, hotels and other details changed while the central account did not.
    — Jonathan Landrum Jr, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Seed butter contains nutrients naturally found in the whole seed, including protein, fiber, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals.
    — Jo Ann Liguori, Flow Space, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of contains

Browse Nearby Words

behaved
behaves
behaving
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Behaves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behaves. Accessed 1 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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All