POLICY Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

policy

noun

ˈpä-lə-sē

Definition of policy

as in procedure

a way of acting or proceeding it's always been my policy not to spread rumors

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in prudence

the ability to make intelligent decisions especially in everyday matters you should have exercised greater policy in your online relationships and not divulged so much personal information

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 policy There are brawls over policy that lead to lawsuits, but the main drama is the 2023 school board election, where the Democrats hoped to reverse the Republicans’ 6-3 majority. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Every privacy policy is written about people—employees, partners, vendors. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 The judge also found the city liable because Harris had final authority to enforce the public-participation policy during council meetings. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 Angela Hanks, chief of policy programs at The Century Foundation, said the findings may understate the financial pressure households face. — Sharon Epperson, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for policy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for policy

Noun

Woodyard is scheduled to have a procedure on Monday, Drinkwitz said, for an undisclosed injury.

— PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026
The procedure had already been approved, and everyone involved understood that my doctor had spent months fighting to secure authorization.

— Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of procedure

Noun

Notably, Marvell built some prudence into that spending guide, assuming the current rate of capex growth will moderate over the forecast period and move closer to historical levels in the out-years.

— Jeff Marks, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
That might well be a sign of prudence on the part of fashion brands, which have been trying to boost full-price sales by not over-ordering inventory.

— Evan Clark, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of prudence

Noun

People with the second phenotype, called durable, might have grown up in a predictable world—for example, a strict religious sect or just a family that experienced little change—and developed only certain coping strategies as a result.

— Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Ren Faire, a 2024 docuseries Oppenheim shot for HBO about the succession crisis at the Texas Renaissance Festival, marked the apotheosis of this strategy.

— Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of strategy

Noun

Wherever fear has replaced curiosity, wherever people have stopped listening, wherever power has outrun wisdom.

— Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Somehow, the book is compact enough to fit into a bag, easy to dip into and draw from Le Guin’s wellspring of wisdoms.

— Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of wisdom

Noun

It was deemed Biden’s signature climate law, providing hundreds of billions of dollars for tax credits and programs to bolster the clean energy sector (much of that funding was repealed by the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act).

— Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
The program provides training in barista skills, espresso brewing, earning a food handler’s license, learning point-of-sale systems, customer service skills, food prep and other more general workplace skills.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of program

Noun

Investors should also look at a fund's 30-day SEC yield to get a sense of what the company is generating in terms of income.

— Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026
Government buildings were vandalized in multiple cities, contributing to a sense of national crisis that could boost leading far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen six months before elections.

— Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of sense

Noun

The debate also centers on whether a single national framework can protect the public without giving regulators excessive discretion.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
The vote of five siblings to sell the shares triggered the termination clause in the trust, and the filing argues that the trust doesn’t grant trustees discretion to disregard a valid vote to terminate.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of discretion

Browse Nearby Words

policing (up)

policy

poling

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Style

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

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Synonyms of policy

noun

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