doves

noun

plural of dove
1
as in pacifists
a person who opposes war or warlike policies the doves were in favor of using the surplus to improve the nation's schools and not its weapons systems

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in angels
an innocent or gentle person he's a dove who wouldn't hurt a fly

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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 doves The memorial, which features sculptures of an angel and bronze doves, is located in a cemetery that is also home to the world’s largest Catholic mausoleum. — Luis Andres Henao, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 Lizzie’s desire to kill her parents is inflamed, for example, by Abby (Rebecca Hall) killing her beloved doves. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026 Monster depicts Lizzie keeping a great number of doves as her dear pets, housing them in an elaborate coop out back. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026 The outlet added that doves were released outside the church before guests moved inside for the ceremony. — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026 The Lizzie Borden Story lifts Abby out of mythological passivity and puts her at the center of events, perhaps most significantly by having her kill Lizzie’s pet doves. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 The 5% benchmark While debt hawks and doves might debate the importance of the 5% threshold being hit, UBS’s Paul Donovan points out that the number actually means very little in a real economic sense. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026 Unlike quail or pheasants, doves won't run ahead of a hunter wading through vegetation. — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026 Everyone likes to eat the doves, but wood pigeons are the real treat. — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doves
  1. pacifists
  2. angels
  3. innocents
  4. sheep
  5. lambs
Noun
  • However, it was criticized by pacifists at home and China for deviating from Japan’s postwar self-defense only principle.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • All voiceover in the film is detached from the images, from a mixture of unidentified community folk who are content to speak anonymously, and neighboring outsiders perplexed by these out-of-time pacifists.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Definition of pacifists
Noun
  • The woman understood from her hasty reading that perhaps all miracles could be attributed to saints and angels if they were experienced by a believer.
    — Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Every nightfall is different — different seasonal colors, angels, weather, celestial glows, grasses and shadows.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of angels
Noun
  • On that terrible day, millions of Americans witnessed airplanes flying into buildings, people jumping off skyscrapers, and the Twin Towers collapsing with thousands of innocents inside.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The Night Court will not stand idly by while innocents are attacked.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of innocents
Noun
  • Some public school advocates have called the tax credit as a wolf in sheep’s clothing aimed at further privatizing public education.
    — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Both wear coarse, sheep’s wool djellabas over trekking pants and plaid shirts and have turban-like scarves, known as shesh, piled high on their heads.
    — Jen Murphy, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of sheep
Noun
  • There is always a vegetarian option, but this really is a place for ardent carnivores, who are encouraged each evening to watch as Patagonian lambs (or other regional produce) are cooked over an open fire in a smoky room by the kitchen.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Other disputes are minor, like the three animal rights activists who stole lambs from King Charles’ Sandringham estate.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of lambs

Browse Nearby Words

dovecotes
doves
dovetail
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Cite this Entry

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

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