NURSES Synonyms: 251 Similar and Opposite Words

nurses 1 of 2

noun

plural of nurse

as in nannies

a person employed to care for a young child or children sent his little son back to his nurse so that he could return to his study to work

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nurses

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of nurse

as in mothers

to attend to the needs and comforts of willingly lent a hand to nurse his grandmother in her final years, helping her get from one room to the other and making sure she was warm

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as in suckles

to give milk to from the breast a new mother's decision to nurse her baby

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weans

as in has

to keep in one's mind or heart he continues to nurse a tender affection for his first girlfriend

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as in babies

to treat with great or excessive care nursed his sprained ankle for the rest of the week

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as in raises

to bring to maturity through care and education as foster parents they accepted and nursed 16 needy children over the years

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as in encourages

to help the growth or development of her teachers did much to nurse her literary talent

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as in spares

to use or give out in stingy amounts he carefully nursed his energy during the marathon so that he would have something left for the final stretch

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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 nurses

Noun

Social workers, nurses, therapists, and home health aides provide care that depends not simply on technical skill, but on empathy, dignity, and compassion. — Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026 The high amount of overtime at the mental health department is related mainly to nurses working at the state’s mental health hospitals, Whiting and Connecticut Valley Hospital, which are both in Middletown. — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026 Jonah himself is remaining positive while keeping his spirits up thanks to the love, support and encouragement of his family, friends and all those doctors and nurses who care so much for him. — Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 The state prison system experiences chronic staffing shortages of corrections officers, nurses and physicians. — Jaquelyn Jahn, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 This includes certified nursing assistants and nurses who serve about 88,800 prison inmates. — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Hundreds of volunteers, including dentists, nurses and technicians, are donating their time to provide care. — Jessica Riley, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 Governments track our progress and publish reports projecting how many more nurses will be needed. — Lynne S. Moronski, STAT, 15 Oct. 2026 Most of the nurses the director has met came from rural villages to the cities for work. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Verb

At the family estate, Sybylla, who nurses inchoate hopes of becoming a writer, is to be remade into a suitable wife. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2026 Ultimately, Etna’s closest bond is with the itinerant medic Hong who nurses his emaciated, shrapnel-scarred body. — Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026 Rachel dates a shoe store operator named Lou (Bob Hoskins), while Charlotte nurses a crush on her handsome young school bus driver and flirts with Catholicism to the chagrin of her Jewish mother. — David Faris, TheWeek, 17 July 2026 After Robin is gravely injured, he is taken in by the sage prioress Brigid (Jodie Comer), who nurses him back to health at an island convent. — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 17 June 2026 Her father — struggling with poverty and the grief over his wife's death — wants to shoot it, but Jessica secretly nurses the animal back to health, bringing her closer to her father in the process. — Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 25 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nurses

Noun

The prosecutor argued the beatings basically never stopped, claiming footage showed nannies beating one child, then turning their violence toward any of the other toddlers who wept while watching.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
On more than one occasion, the nannies were seen physically harming the children on camera.

— Austin Turner, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of nannies

Verb

Saturday Night Live host Matt Damon was cast as the adoring husband in Mom, an entirely inoffensive movie where nothing bad happens—something that mothers everywhere will enjoy.

— William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2026
Some parents − overwhelmingly mothers − are stepping back from full-time work or leaving the workforce altogether to accommodate the needs of their family.

— Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026

Definition of mothers

Verb

The mid-weight denim is rigid, made of 100 percent cotton rigid denim and has a bit of a rustic feel.

— Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
When healthy, Ohtani has the ability to break out of even the most dire of slumps with an otherworldly performance, like that three-homer (as a hitter), 10-strikeout (as a pitcher) all-timer.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of has

Verb

Each new piece was crafted to be simple, functional, and beautiful, giving parents peace of mind and babies a nurturing space to grow.

— Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Hummers are the smallest and lightest of birds, some weighing no more than a coin, some babies the size of a bean.

— Kate Siber, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025

Definition of babies

Verb

Ohio polling raises questions Advertisement As polling consistently shows an advantage for Acton, Republicans are increasingly arguing that the polls may be wrong by just enough to give Ramaswamy the win.

— Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
The biggest names in movies, music, fashion and beyond pulled out their sartorial best for the annual fundraiser that celebrates cinematic achievement and raises money for the museum.

— Brittany Talarico, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of raises

Verb

Applied to a solo outing, that approach encourages diners to appreciate the meal in front of them instead of scrolling through their phones.

— Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
Jordan says a recent guideline change encourages doctors to diagnose and treat sooner based on symptoms.

— Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of encourages

Verb

Companion animal euthanasia is a therapeutic intervention to mitigate suffering; when conducted properly, the process spares the subject both fear and pain.

— Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Speaking of the oversized, the collection’s Handloom Cardigan fits the bill but spares you from imitating a balloon, courtesy of those vertical stripes (also known as the oldest optical trick in the fashion book).

— Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of spares

Noun

Working with a large format camera that dictated the pace of each shoot, Verbeeck introduced herself to potential sitters with open calls to schools, clubs, youth groups and local organizers.

— Zoe Whitfield, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
Where line sitters were paid to try to secure Banks’ own family one of the most desirable seats in town.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026