IS Synonyms: 111 Similar and Opposite Words

verb

Definition of is

present tense third-person singular of be

as in exists

to have life stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stands

to occupy a place or location we'll be there waiting for you

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in ranks

to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes our school's football team is first in its division

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in happens

to take place the party is next Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 is There is speculation, too, that Balenciaga, where creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli is plying his couture chops and returning the brand to its roots, might also be facing some changes. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026 And with economic growth stagnating, there is no easy way out. — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 Between 400 and 450 children attend Silver Rail Elementary, where there is a staff of more than 40 people. — Phil Helsel, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026 The dry season kicks off Thursday with mainly dry and breezy conditions across South Florida, and there is an isolated chance of seeing some showers during the day. — Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 Also for those with kitchens, there is a Whole Foods and Safeway close by to pick-up groceries. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026 There is much to discover and much to think about when watching British creative Theo Rollason‘s Queer Edward II. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026 Mathematicians strongly suspect that there is a genuinely knotty loop that also has a Jones polynomial 1. — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026 That is a hard thing to ask of organizations with famously small margins, if there is any margin worth mentioning. — John Mildenberger, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for is

Verb

Last May, Backrooms — about a horrifying liminal space that exists beyond our own reality — smashed box office records.

— Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 18 Oct. 2026
Similar technology already exists in specialized high-performance vehicles.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of exists

Verb

This represents just under a third of overall staff numbers, which now stands at 24 across offices in Brighton and Glasgow, according to Ricochet’s website.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
With 30 audio sensors listening for racket strikes and ball bounces, and four cameras tracking play, the machine stands at one end of the net, offering interactive drills and real-time feedback, and recording and analyzing matches.

— Matthew Huff, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of stands

Verb

Walker ranks second in the NFL with 87 rushing attempts this year, on pace for 370 this season.

— Sam McDowell October 12, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
While there’s nothing like feeling settled in your new home, the physical act of packing all your stuff (sorting, tossing, and organizing it in boxes) and then unpacking it in another residence ranks somewhere between a root canal and filing taxes.

— Perri Ormont Blumberg, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of ranks

Verb

Researchers can model what happens if copper prices increase sharply or if a newer technology becomes commercially viable years from now.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
When that happens, per state law, the commissioner must either close the campus or take over the district.

— Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of happens

Verb

The result is a deep economic divide between Paris and the rest of the country and an elite that lives largely among its own, surrounded by people with similar educations, careers, and assumptions, and cut off from much of the country.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
So once again, the rich, powerful Establishment would be dictating the terms under which everyone else lives.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of lives

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

Articles Related to is

Cite this Entry

Style

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

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Synonyms of is

verb

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