APPROACHES Synonyms: 147 Similar and Opposite Words

approaches 1 of 2

noun

plural of approach

as in paths

an established course for traveling from one place to another will take the standard landing approach from the south

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Relevance

as in methods

the means or procedure for doing something that's a different approach to knitting, but it seems to work

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approaches

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of approach

as in comes

to come near or nearer the parade's approaching! I can hear the band playing!

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in enters

to move closer to approach the bull with caution

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in approximates

to come near or nearer to in character or quality his store-bought dessert doesn't even approach your homemade version of it

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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 approaches

Noun

The White House decision has heightened fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow's escalating attacks as winter approaches. — Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026 Over the four decades since, communities have taken different approaches to bring CPR into the classroom. — Meng Yang, Time, 18 Oct. 2026 Changing nozzles during a print could offer some of the advantages of both approaches. — New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026 Bøe said the experiment could help establish the engineering knowledge, licensing approaches, and supply chains needed for commercial deployment. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026 The industry is moving toward hybrid approaches that combine classical cryptography with post-quantum mechanisms. — Scott Alldridge, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Any stronger storms could bring down trees or power lines, and even locations that miss the worst thunderstorms will notice increasing winds as the front approaches. — Bill Kelly, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 New approaches to peptide design and drug delivery are testing how far those limits can be pushed, with potential implications for treatments across immunology, metabolic disease and beyond. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026 Conversely, more diverse teams can bring a wider range of perspectives and approaches to research. — Rodney Coates, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026

Verb

As the country approaches its 250th birthday, roughly half of Americans say the American Dream no longer holds true, and younger generations are on track to earn less than their parents. — Heather Occhino, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 Communing with her fans is part of the Chinouriri experience, so much so that anyone who approaches her for a photo is also met with a real conversation. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 Agree on what success looks like, test both approaches on a small scale, and let the results guide the decision. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 The company also says its accuracy approaches that of NVIDIA’s largest reasoning model, despite having roughly one-fifth as many parameters. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026 Mid-level dry air will limit thunderstorm coverage as activity approaches the metroplex. — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 To support Constant’s production, Shopkorn approaches their relationship in a more old-school model, sending her money as a stipend instead of waiting for a sale to go through and split it 50-50 as is now the norm. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 Surveillance footage shows a man running from the white truck as a black SUV approaches him from behind. — Lekan Oyekanmi, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Furthermore, a 3 million metric ton diesel export volume approaches Russia's historical total monthly diesel exports. — CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for approaches

Noun

Imagine that two planets orbit a star on very similar paths, but one (call it Planet 1) is just barely closer to the star than the other (Planet 2).

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026
In contrast, a learner that assumes the world has shape, persistent objects, agents with goals, causes that precede effects and space with paths through it only needs enough data to locate things within that structure.

— Charles Yeomans, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of paths

Noun

The team also evaluated methods for attaching sensors to storage casks, with the aim of developing installations capable of remaining in place for years under high-temperature and high-radiation conditions.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
But Washburn is further troubled by A-83’s language mandating hunting and angling as preferred methods of wildlife management.

— Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of methods

Verb

Sympathy comes later, unleashed in 18th-century thought through Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
The predominantly beige canvas comes spring loaded with pops of color, notably a sunset orange shade.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of comes

Noun

One of the first to try on that hat was the agency's Perseverance rover on Mars, which used machine learning to plan and complete its first drive on the Red Planet using routes mapped out by generative AI in December 2025.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine’s Black Sea and Danube river ports, leaving Kyiv increasingly reliant on alternative routes to get its grain exports to markets in Africa and the Middle East.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of routes

Noun

For some young investors, that means money originally allocated to long-term strategies is being funneled to activities built around immediate outcomes.

— Aneri Jambusaria, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Other strategies make distributions that may include all three types.

— Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of strategies

Verb

One reason the early childhood brain development window closes without intervention is that our diagnostic tools were not built to look through the mother-child nexus.

— Holly Baines, STAT, 14 Oct. 2026
The sentence closes a criminal case that grew from an endangerment arrest into a sweeping prosecution tied to multiple deaths and reshaped how Texas regulates unlicensed care homes and the agents who steer older adults into them.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of closes

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approaches

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“Approaches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/approaches. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of approaches

noun

verb

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