songs

noun

plural of song
1
as in ballads
a short musical composition for the human voice often with instrumental accompaniment she sang a little-known song for the talent show

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in poems
a composition using rhythm and often rhyme to create a lyrical effect the songs of Shakespeare

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in melodies
a rhythmic series of musical tones arranged to give a pleasing effect whistle a song as accompaniment to your work

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in poetries
writing that uses rhythm, vivid language, and often rhyme to provoke an emotional response a hero honored in song and story

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 songs The latest version includes a handful of unreleased tunes, in addition to the original 2006 songs. — Caché McClay, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026 Artists using the library to record, produce and distribute songs is not unheard of. — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2026 The Sacramento Bee asked readers about their favorite songs from the late Queen of Country. — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026 Sadly, the production was a downer, draining Kushner’s masterpiece of color and humor and inserting, in their place, gloomy projections of cityscapes and, unaccountably, David Bowie songs. — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026 Parton’s recognition of Mexican immigrants acknowledges the value of those who come to America with a dream, a story that echoes the songs her mother, Avie Lee, sang to her children of European immigrants who settled in southern Appalachia. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2026 The tracklist for the album includes 10 songs, plus features from Model/Actriz and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt. — Zack Sharf, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026 What had been promoted as an appearance turned into a performance, with the Wu-Tang member running through songs from his catalog as fans rapped along. — Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026 And around the world, people are streaming her songs en masse. — Maria Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for songs
  1. ballads
  2. poems
  3. melodies
  4. lyrics
  5. tunes
  6. hymns
  7. vocals
  8. jingles
Noun
  • As a result, the concert featured no acoustic sets, no power ballads, no reason for anybody to sit down.
    — Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The soft, soothing sounds of Anne Murray and the over-the-top, emotional ballads of Barbra Streisand had filled our living room and shaped my understanding of female singers.
    — Lisa Whittington-Hill, Longreads, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ballads
Noun
  • Text The Psalms are sacred songs, or sacred poems, originally written in Hebrew and likely meant to be sung.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Cowin has also spliced together photographs of disparate subjects — people, places and things — on broad horizontal panels that suggest narrative progression but instead register as evocative panoramic poems.
    — Leah Ollman, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of poems
Noun
  • James’ melodies seem to materialize and unspool, an unforced reclamation of the mystery that once permeated his writing.
    — Ryan Leas, Pitchfork, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Within a few months of Wood’s death, Gossard composed an album’s worth of extraordinary songs, or at least the bones of them, minus vocal melodies and lyrics.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of melodies
Noun
  • Less pleading and more of a warning, Beyoncé’s version of the beloved hit features different lyrics and an introduction that directly references the original track.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Additionally, both the moonwalk and the glove feature in the lyrics.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of lyrics
Noun
  • The latest version includes a handful of unreleased tunes, in addition to the original 2006 songs.
    — Caché McClay, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Quaid was overwhelmed with joy and claimed Cruise personally called him with the news that the production was set, but quickly changed tunes once Hathaway was revealed as Cruise's co-star.
    — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of tunes
Noun
  • The scholar of religion Friedrich Max Müller (1823–1900) noticed that many Vedic hymns praise different deities using the same superlatives and ascribe to them the same mythological feats.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Avie Lee filled the family's two-room home with music by singing hymns, folk songs and traditional mountain music.
    — Devarrick Turner, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of hymns
Noun
  • Anurag Saikia composed the music for the first track, which features vocals by Jyoti Nooran and lyrics by Shakeel Azmi.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The 25-year-old California singer-songwriter staked out his turf by taking pride in the ordinariness of his hit, from the mild-mannered vocals to the drama-free sincerity of his romantic imagery.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of vocals
Noun
  • Decked out in regalia featuring feathers, jingles, beads and colorful fabrics, these dancers from across Californian and North American tribal communities did prayer ceremonies in the Shingle Springs Rancheria’s open-air dance circle.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Our heroine, Allie (Monica Barbaro), is a singer who records commercial jingles for products that treat acne and vaginal dryness (presumably less of a problem, given the current non-state of affairs).
    — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of jingles

Browse Nearby Words

songlike
songs
songsmith
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Cite this Entry

“Songs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/songs. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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