RAINS Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

rains 1 of 2

noun

plural of rain

as in storms

a steady falling of water from the sky in significant quantity the rain continued for most of the day

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in barrages

a heavy fall of objects the Norman invaders fled when the castle's defenders threw a rain of stones down upon them

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rains

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rain

as in pours

to fall as water in a continuous stream of drops from the clouds it started raining early this morning and hasn't let up since

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in showers

to give readily and in large quantities she rained praise upon her graduating students the squadron rained bombs on the enemy's fortifications

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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 rains

Noun

El Niño is likely to exacerbate the impact of torrential rains in neighboring Ghana that have damaged crops and increased the prevalence of the plant-killing black pod disease. — Paige Bruton, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026 The rains came from a typical monsoon storm; these storms rake across the Grand Canyon and the desert Southwest between June and September every year. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 Recent rains in many areas of Maryland have brought temporary relief from dry conditions, but most of us are still abnormally dry or in a drought that began about two years ago. — Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 1 Sep. 2026 Trucks carried giant rocks as workers tried to repave a portion of the road, state broadcaster CCTV showed Monday, next to rapidly rushing waters, which have been made more powerful by rains in the past couple of days. — ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026 Monsoon rains repeatedly destroy their shelter, and the city offers them little beyond hostility and indifference. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 Aug. 2026 Relief could come from this year’s El Niño rains, but those are not forecast to arrive until October at the earliest. — Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026 Research shows that extreme weather events, including heat waves, rains and melting glaciers, have become more frequent. — Matteo Moschella, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026 The recent two-month onslaught of drenching rains and destructive tornados that ravaged both the south suburbs and northwest Indiana was bad enough. — Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026

Verb

As God rains down sulfur and fire to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife glances back and turns into a pillar of salt. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026 This dust accumulates in the corners, lurks under the sofa, and rains down on your lampshades. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 2 July 2026 Rain like it almost never rains in the desert around Las Vegas. — Eric Boodman, STAT, 23 Mar. 2026 Time seems to collapse in on itself when bombs keep dropping overhead, and the act of trying to visit a next-door neighbor becomes a matter of life or death as sniper fire rains down. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026 That and the fact it never rains. — Lauren Bans, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026 From his pulpit, Wicks rains down selectively vituperative fire and brimstone, with an eye toward provoking walkouts from unsuspecting visitors—say, a gay couple or a single mom. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025 The dust is microscopic asteroid and comet debris that constantly rains in space, eventually making its way to Earth. — Regina G. Barber, NPR, 11 Nov. 2025 Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the lava-licked ground. — Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rains

Noun

There is a slight chance of storms on Sunday afternoon, with a 15% to 25% chance of precipitation, but some forecasts call for dry conditions.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
In the meantime, several storms were brewing in the Pacific Ocean, including Lowell, which reached hurricane strength Tuesday morning.

— Jamie Stengle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of storms

Noun

For weeks this past spring, Israelis sought shelter from Iranian ballistic missile barrages, sometimes sleeping in underground train stations and parking lots.

— Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
Earlier this month, the air force stopped publishing the number of ballistic missiles fired or intercepted in Russia's nightly barrages.

— David Brennan, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of barrages

Verb

When summer hits and strong afternoon light pours through west- and south-facing glass, all that natural light turns into heat and your electric bill climbs with it.

— Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026
Set on a picturesque Japanese island, the series follows Karin Shirahama, a strawberry farmer who pours everything into her land, and Lee Yubin, a city dweller whose fortunes have taken a sharp turn for the worse.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of pours

Verb

Spotty showers across the Kansas City region Sunday morning give way to sunny skies and building heat, the forecast shows.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 9 Aug. 2026
And when engines light, SpaceX has to fire off its water deluge system, which showers the launchpad with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water in mere moments to shield the vital infrastructure from the blaze of liftoff.

— Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 16 July 2026

Definition of showers

Noun

There have been heavy rainfalls since, but because its location is so near to the equator, where ferocious winds can’t properly spin, the lush land has been spared from the worst.

— DeMarco Williams, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
That increase has already led to more sunny day flooding, intensified rainfalls and hurricanes, reflected in higher and higher insurance premiums.

— Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026

Definition of rainfalls

Noun

The droughts, floods, and crop yield reductions brought on by El Niño represent one of the primary risk factors.

— , CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
The advancing gas front improves sweep efficiency by penetrating tight, unreached reservoir compartments that standard water-injection floods bypass during secondary extraction campaigns.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of floods

Verb

Again, an ammonium fluoride solution is one of the starting materials; the silicon dioxide simply precipitates out of this solution.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026
The hydrogen sulfide reacts with the iron content of the egg yolk, which precipitates into iron sulfide, a green-colored mineral.

— Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of precipitates

Verb

Bogost lavishes praise on hobbies (fly-fishing), crafts (knitting), and trades (woodworking) as ways to dwell in sensory experience.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 17 June 2026
In one particularly confessional episode, the Belgian star lavishes his wife with praise while waxing lyrical about his past mistakes.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026