STRIKES Synonyms: 471 Similar and Opposite Words

strikes 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of strike

as in walks

to refuse to work in order to force an employer to meet demands the union is calling for its members to strike until the mining company agrees to meet safety standards

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in affects

to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response we were struck by the willingness of total strangers to go out of their way to help us

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in occurs (to)

to enter the mind of it struck her later that no one at the bank had asked for identification

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in collides

to come into usually forceful contact with something the thump of hailstones striking the cars in the parking lot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in hits

to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner the driver of the car behind me applied his brakes too late and struck my car from the rear

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in dismantles

to take apart the stagehands struck the sets the morning after the play closed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in attacks

to take sudden, violent action against a rattlesnake strikes its prey with lightning speed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in possesses

to cast a spell on the only way that she's going to get a man is if she strikes one

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

blesses

strikes

2 of 2

noun

plural of strike

as in walkouts

a work stoppage by a body of workers intended to force an employer to meet their demands the nurses will go on strike tomorrow unless they're finally given a pay raise

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in assaults

the act or action of setting upon with force or violence the first strike was directed at a munitions warehouse

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in disadvantages

a feature of someone or something that creates difficulty for achieving success kids born into poverty already have a strike against them

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in collisions

a forceful coming together of two things the strike of a hammer against a nail always has a satisfying sound when you're building something yourself

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in accidents

an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events she's made one strike after another since she began speculating in real estate

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 strikes

Verb

Before any cymbal leaves the factory, a shokunin strikes it and listens, comparing its sound against a pristine reference by ear. — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026 That the university is prepared to sacrifice a vital cultural resource in order to save a relatively small amount of money strikes me — and others as singularly short-sighted and ill-advised. — Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026 For anyone who prefers a sporty travel outfit but isn’t in the mood for leggings, this matching sweatsuit strikes a nice middle ground. — Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2026 Sunlight strikes the lunar landscape along the terminator — the boundary between lunar day and night — throwing mountains and crater rims into strong relief. — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Having opened her home in the middle of the night, Vaughn once again strikes Kate (and me) as the very picture of decency and good faith. — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 In those pages, a protester strikes an ICE officer with her car before being shot by his partner, and the officer subsequently dies. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026 As Hunt noted, cross-disciplinary tension is often where true genius strikes. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 The Saturday attack was part of a string of Houthi strikes on airports across the kingdom this past week. — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2026

Noun

As recent conflicts have shown, air power is rarely effective without ground troops who can move in and seize territory after strikes. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 Russians are largely shielded from the deadly horrors of the front lines, but Ukraine has sought to shatter the illusion that the consequences of war are far removed through drone strikes deep inside its territory. — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 The strikes followed a string of attacks on Sunday that marked the highest single-day tally of maritime incidents since the start of the war in Iran. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would resume strikes on Russian refineries in retaliation. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 Ukraine’s drone strikes, most recently against Russian data centers, have heaped more inconvenience upon Russian consumers, who already face major internet disruptions. — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026 Student and teacher unions have called for another round of nationwide school strikes next Tuesday. — Makini Brice, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026 Eight-year-old Muhammad al-Shakhrit had survived years of war, displaced by Israeli strikes that destroyed his family’s home in Rafah and forced them to live in a tent by the coast. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2026 Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,400 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. — Joseph Krauss, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for strikes

Verb

Your teenager walks in the door, barely says hello and disappears into their room.

— Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Far from the safety of the Archives where Scribes record the history of Navarre and keep records, Violet walks the parapet to bond with a dragon and undertake the very dangerous and highly fatal occupation.

— Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of walks

Verb

Miller's new ad opens with a somber sequence of close-ups of various people's faces as the congressman talks about how divorce affects families.

— Lara Korte The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
The 8-30g law affects only communities where less than 10% of the housing is considered affordable by state guidelines.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of affects

Verb

Verification, Tambe said, gets more complicated when an agent’s work crosses organizational functions.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Each fall, Earth crosses different parts of this sprawling debris stream, producing the overlapping Northern and Southern Taurids and, occasionally, the larger fragments that create spectacular fireballs.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of crosses

Verb

Still, the track eventually collides into a seasick wall of distortion that recalls lovesliescrushing’s weightless takes on shoegaze as Pitchkites sings of unmet expectations and self pity.

— Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 14 Oct. 2026
As private longing collides with honor and social codes, each character has to reckon with what their choices cost.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of collides

Verb

Assembly Bill 2555 dismantles and streamlines an aging system that some researchers said kept far too many students classified as English learners months or even years after mastering the language.

— Emily Woodruff, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
The spiritual fact of our completeness in God dismantles the cycle and opens the door to renewal.

— The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of dismantles

Verb

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder that attacks healthy cells in the central nervous system.

— Mark Morales, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Why Autoimmune Diseases Are Easy to Miss Autoimmune diseases happen when the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues.

— Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of attacks

Verb

Her path crosses with that of Inocência, an enslaved Black woman who possesses healing knowledge, knows the land, and devises her own strategies of resistance.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
More than 5% of equipment and materials supplied to US chipmakers originate in China, which also possesses some 90% of the rare earths required to manufacture semiconductors, a new report showed.

— Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 12 Oct. 2026