friends 1 of 2

noun

plural of friend
1
as in buddies
a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another really close friends who like to do everything together and are always sharing secrets

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in supporters
a person who actively supports or favors a cause hopes that the new governor will be a friend to environmental causes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

friends

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of friend
as in associates

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Dissimilar Words

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 friends
Noun
In the weeks since her son died during a Fourth of July boating trip with friends, Christine Wells-Wonsley and her husband, Elmore, have become a fixture at the civil rights attorney’s side. — Ryan Young, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 Afterward, a few friends made the half-mile trek east to the Mabee Center on the edge of campus. — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026 One evening, some friends and I ended up at an underground rave in the ballroom of a Chelsea hotel. — Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 And strangers become friends through their weekly creative writing workshop and daily lunch service. — Karla Walsh, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2026 When Maycee Abendschein stayed with Kathleen Quinn for a few months, never did the two think that their dogs would become the bestest of friends – to the point of becoming inseparable. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026 Please join me in praying for Wayne’s family and friends during this difficult time. — Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Aug. 2026 Styles and Swift briefly dated in 2012 and 2013 and are now friends. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Aug. 2026 Back on June 20, Sinibaldi went out with friends and family to celebrate her 29th birthday at Blu On The Hudson in Weehawken. — Andrew Ramos, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for friends
  1. buddies
  2. supporters
  3. associates
  4. colleagues
  5. proponents
  6. befriends
  7. confidants
  8. advocates
Noun
  • Our hunting and conservation editor and his buddies chartered a helicopter to fly into an area of public land that was surrounded by private ranches.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Mel might be a disaster with her loud mouth and impolite antics, but her over-the-top meddling does her buddies some good.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of buddies
Noun
  • Was The Friedkin Group's decision not to sell the homegrown midfielder a victory for those loyal supporters who campaigned to keep him?
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Capcom has proven itself to be one of the platform's biggest supporters, bringing nearly all of its new and old releases to the platform.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of supporters
Verb
  • What being Southern meant to his father—and the values Duane associates with being a Southern gentleman.
    — Sid Evans, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The productivity boom everyone associates with the personal computer didn’t actually show up in the macro data until 15 years after the PC was commercialized.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 July 2026
Definition of associates
Noun
  • And because nobody washed the dishes before tossing them into the feasting pit, King and his colleagues (in a 2017 study) could analyze the microscopic residue of ancient drinks that had soaked into the ceramic.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Whether El Niño will continue to strengthen is something Cole and her colleagues’ records can’t answer, but scientists are using climate models to try to puzzle that out.
    — Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of colleagues
Noun
  • The gloves deliver can an electrical shock strong enough to drop a strong man to his knees in an instant, and proponents say the gloves provide a fast and non-lethal way to subdue a person.
    — Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The memo is a bit surprising considering Gates still advises Microsoft, one of the major proponents of the technology, and an investor in OpenAI.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of proponents
Verb
  • Upper-class Samantha befriends poor Nelly and changes her snobby grandmother’s opinion on Irish immigration.
    — Tara Strauch, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist who befriends a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) with an unusual ability.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of befriends
Noun
  • Kloots serves as one of Jowsey’s three confidants on the show, guiding him — alongside Georgia Hassarati and Sonny Henty — in choosing his future wife.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Perhaps nobody is better suited to marvel at Walker’s recent success than Chenoweth, an assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals and one of Walker’s closest confidants in the organization.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of confidants
Noun
  • Following the fatal crashes, transit advocates called on New Yorkers to vote in November on Ballot Question 3, which would expedite the review process for small infrastructure and safe street projects.
    — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Every September, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, advocates ask Americans to wear gold in recognition of the children and families affected by cancer.
    — Jason Collins, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of advocates

Phrases Containing friends

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Cite this Entry

“Friends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friends. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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