CAUSES Synonyms: 157 Similar and Opposite Words

causes 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of cause

as in creates

to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind) the ice storm caused a massive power outage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

causes

2 of 2

noun

plural of cause

as in determinants

someone or something responsible for a result the much-debated causes of the war

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in campaigns

a series of activities undertaken to achieve a goal joined the freedom fighters' cause as a young man

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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 causes

Verb

Yet in September, Bangladesh reported a daily average of 1,198 new cases of measles, which causes a high fever, cough and telltale rash. — Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026 The organization’s focus areas are education, jobs and livelihood, and health—causes she’s cared about deeply since childhood. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026 An April report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked nearly 17,000 Shigella samples, which causes Shigellosis, which and can bring on diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, collected between 2011 and 2023. — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026 Plus, an infected deer tick must keep its harpoon-like feeding tube in the bloodstream for 36 to 48 hours to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. — Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026 This causes the cement paint and patching compound to dry too quickly. — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026 Instead, excess testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes the hair follicles to become smaller and then the hair strands to become thinner. — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026 Bringing them to the aquarium to keep them alive likely causes great trauma to the whales after many years of being left alone. — Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026 Holden Karnofsky, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, founded Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy), an organization that funds causes central to the EA mission, including AI and biosecurity. — Katie McQue, NPR, 26 Sep. 2026

Noun

Much like Parton, Judd lets her actions speak louder than her words, and one of the causes closest to her heart is helping military service members. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Suicide is one of the biggest causes of death of young men under 50 globally. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 The government, however, has maintained that the ban on the group does not prevent lawful protests in support of pro-Palestinian causes. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 At least two other solicitor generals in Georgia, including in Fulton County, have similar programs allowing people facing minor offenses to donate to charitable causes as a form of community service. — Reed Williams, AJC.com, 15 Oct. 2026 The active ingredients neutralize the causes of odor, with full effect within 24 hours. — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026 The viral bald eagle known as Jackie, who lived in California's Big Bear Valley, died of multiple causes, according to a new necropsy report. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026 But this assessment mistakes the consequences of domination for its causes. — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026 Supplements Can Add to the Problem Magnesium supplements and magnesium-containing medications are more common causes of hypermagnesemia. — Md Published, Verywell Health, 14 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for causes

Verb

To see how this spread creates randomness throughout the world, consider an ordinary coin-flip experiment again.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
The Republican president signed an executive order that creates a new women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force to focus on the issue.

— Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of creates

Noun

Many of those outcomes can be attributed to social determinants of health, like affordability, care access and transportation.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2026
Katie Garfield, who studies social determinants of health at Harvard Law School's Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, said the lack of federal guidance is stirring uncertainty for states that want to pursue nutrition programs in Medicaid.

— Priyanka D McCluskey, NPR, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of determinants

Noun

Trump never lost Alaska, Ohio, Texas, or Kansas in any of his presidential campaigns.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
In her new role, Jenner will continue overseeing Fwrd’s digital creative direction, including designer selections, monthly trend edits and major marketing campaigns.

— Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of campaigns

Verb

This process, which generates perfectly crystalline silicon ingots to be sliced like fragile metallic salamis into thin wafers, is entrusted largely to one firm in Taiwan and two in Japan.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Boasting about 24 flagships across countries, Ecoalf generates about 30 percent of its revenues from retail and 24 percent from e-commerce.

— Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of generates

Noun

Among their reasons for concern is Ohio’s poor track record when women are on the ballot.

— Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
These tools are primarily used by those who make less than $50,000 according to a 2022 Government Accountability Office report, with food and rent being the key reasons people use the service, one case study of food and restaurant workers found.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of reasons

Noun

Two months of virtual-production exploration before filming also allowed Fraser and the directors to test lighting, camera movements and the scale of spacecraft interiors.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Participants’ movements, facial expressions and vocal reactions (along with a little interpretation from accompanying parents) suggested a clear winner.

— Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of movements

Verb

Different Monsters Require Different Minds That brings us to today.

— Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
For property owners who poured their life savings into Camelot, the arrival of heavy machinery brings mounting anger over how local authorities handled the complex's long, troubled decline.

— La'Tasha Givens, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026