BEHAVES Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

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

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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 This difference influences how nuclear fuel behaves and how a reactor sustains fission. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026 Microdroplet chemistry Min’s lab has spent years working on microdroplet chemistry, studying how water broken into tiny droplets behaves at its boundary with air. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 Water behaves in different ways around different sections of a protein. — Mike McRae 13, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026 Their primary role has been to assess AI model capabilities and risks and to flag instances where the technology behaves badly. — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 11 Oct. 2026 Along with the Vancouver Art Gallery (a former court house) and the nearby Hotel Georgia, the Hotel Vancouver is one of the three anchors that determined how downtown Vancouver was built, and how the neighborhood behaves today. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 By many accounts, Glass is a friendly, obliging collaborator, and his music—fruitfully self-effacing, rarely complex enough to saturate or overwhelm the listener’s attention—behaves the same way. — Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026 This a show about the 1920s that behaves like a sensational stage spectacle from the 1920s, with a cast of dozens and special effects that make everything and everyone look monumental and magnificent. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 1 Oct. 2026 It can’t just be based on my intuition for how the object behaves. — Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for behaves

Verb

Brown ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and added a scoring pass.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Pettaway finished with 119 yards rushing on 14 carries that included a 12-yard touchdown run.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of carries

Verb

Among the performers, Smith rules the roost as the no-nonsense Angela, and Jones acquits himself tolerably on comic relief duties as the pathetic Mike.

— Caspar Salmon, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
For that demographic, form is everything, and the paper acquits its pledge that every dog must have its daily.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of acquits

Verb

If a policy doesn’t say how AI handles your data, don’t assume it’s handled responsibly.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Sara Qudah, who handles the Middle East for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Levine's beating was not an isolated incident for journalists covering the West Bank olive harvest.

— Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR, 16 Oct. 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

Farther down, the levee that restrains the rivers is a low line of trees into the horizon.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026
The constitutional exclusionary rule restrains government, not private parties, so the Fourth Amendment generally does not bar evidence wrongfully obtained by a private actor.

— Jihun Joun, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of restrains

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“Behaves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behaves. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of behaves

verb

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