INTERESTS Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

interests 1 of 2

noun

plural of interest

as in stakes

a legal right to participation in the advantages, profits, and responsibility of something all of the workers at the food cooperative have an interest in it

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Relevance

as in companies

a commercial or industrial activity or organization a multinational corporation with interests on every continent

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as in interest groups

a group of people with a common identifying interest that they seek to protect and promote the contention that the nation's financial interests have too much power

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interests

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of interest

as in intrigues

to hold the attention of the book didn't interest me, so I ended up watching the parade of people on the sidewalk

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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 interests

Noun

The company is planning one of the biggest IPOs in history as a public benefit corporation, a legal structure that requires management to balance broader public interests with profitability goals. — Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026 Leikauf’s announcement came amid a monthslong dispute with his predecessor, former Sheriff John D’Agostini, who accused him of putting his own interests ahead of the community. — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026 Florida law imposes disclosure requirements concerning certain potential conflicts, and directors should disclose relevant financial or personal interests before the board considers any related transactions or decisions. — Gary M. Mars, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 Her account opens with an acute examination of the paradoxes of willing (an example of how boldly this memoir follows its philosophical interests). — James Wood, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 In its more traditional role, JPMorgan has also financed and facilitated more than $230 billion for industries that support American national interests, according to the bank. — Hugh Son, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026 So the president has the ability under the statute to be able to look at national interests. — NBC news, 18 Oct. 2026 Her more provocative film interests were accompanied by publicly backing liberal causes. — Justine Fisher, PEOPLE, 12 Oct. 2026 Pina argued YouTube’s revenue-share model was proof the platform’s interests aligned with that of its traditional TV partners. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026

Verb

Cranor said a person’s risk depends on how often they are targeted, their security habits, their ability to recognize suspicious messages, and whether the lure really interests them. — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026 What interests Reczek and Bosley-Smith is what the information is allowed to disturb. — Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026 What interests me most about Apple's approach is what happens after the iPhone recognizes something. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Try the version that interests you before worrying about whether everyone understands it. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026 Students begin with one scholarly article in JSTOR, usually from their discipline, and choose an idea, question, concept, argument, or even a citation that interests them. — Saurabh Anand, JSTOR Daily, 24 Sep. 2026 What interests me in Zumthor’s architecture is not simply beauty or contemplation. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026 Reach out to someone whose work interests you and ask about it. — Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to talk about what interests him, in the right context. — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for interests

Noun

The wealth gap has political stakes, too That sense of waiting for an opportunity has electoral relevance.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
Smaller experiments might include briefly leaving the phone at home, or making a low-stakes decision without asking others for reassurance.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of stakes

Noun

There’s a reason some of the planet’s oldest companies can be found in Japan.

— Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Culver City’s mix of Hollywood studios, tech companies and available office space is drawing a growing cluster of AI filmmaking startups eager to reshape the industry.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of companies

Noun

But interest groups nonetheless are focusing on court races in several states with a goal of positioning themselves for bigger races in 2028.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
Unfortunately, the same forces that defeated previous permitting reform packages — primarily left-wing interest groups — are threatening to smother this legislation.

— Editorial Board, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of interest groups

Verb

What intrigues you about taking this fish, who’s been out of water, and throwing him back into familiar waters?

— Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Oct. 2026
The novel that will form the basis of Reacher’s now-in-production fifth season, 2015’s Make Me, finds Reacher visiting a midwestern hamlet called Mother’s Rest because the town’s name intrigues him.

— Chris Klimek, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of intrigues

Noun

That news knocked about 5% off its shares on July 27 and sent the cost of insuring its debt sharply higher.

— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
The Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners are the sole holders of Skydance’s Class A stock, giving them 100% control the voting shares.

— Todd Spangler, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shares

Noun

The plaintiffs, represented by the law firms Poolson Oden and Grant & Eisenhofer, alleged that Union Pacific failed to provide adequate protective equipment or warn employees about hazardous exposures.

— Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Big tech firms in the US are pouring billions into advanced nuclear power to feed energy-hungry artificial intelligence.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of firms

Noun

Both questions surrounding special interests underscored the extent to which the pair has been entrenched in politics for decades, even as Jackson presents himself as the outsider taking on the ultimate insider.

— Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
Other opponents argue that special interests such as the oil and gas industry should not be protected by the state constitution.

— Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of special interests

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interesting

interests

interface

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Style

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

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Synonyms of interests

noun

verb

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