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

Very heavy to heavy rains are also forecast in some areas in the central, eastern and southern regions, including the capital, Bangkok, over the weekend. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026 Heavy rains fell in many areas of southeastern and northeastern Spain on Friday. — CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026 Flood maps, which are commonly out of date, don't consider some types of flood risk, such as flooding from inland heavy rains. — Michael Phillis, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026 Peru has endured heavy rains, landslides, and flooding that has affected hundreds of thousands of people, and the resulting economic disruptions are likely to intensify as the year continues. — Dan Restrepo, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026 The National Weather Service issued flood warnings along the Missouri River above Kansas City as a band of heavy rains was set to soak the region Wednesday night into Thursday. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026 The timing and placement of those rains continues to be uncertain. — Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2026 All of this has prompted flood watches for half of the state of Colorado and 10 other states that are under the threat of heavy flooding rains. — Dave Aguilera, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 With the rains the park has had lately, the leaves were relaxed and not curled into their dry weather posture. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026

Verb

But as the water rains down, the sound and lighting shift with the action into more of a movement piece. — Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rains

Noun

Several points along the Missouri River downstream from Kansas City remain under flood warnings after last week’s storms.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
Warmer water and long-term sea level rise have already lifted sea levels along the coast, and big swells from distant storms are damaging shorelines.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of storms

Noun

In Kyiv, for example, residents used to face a few drone and missile barrages a week—disruptive, but not enough to stop city residents from going about their lives.

— Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
Stunned at first by his opponent’s aggressiveness and the onslaught of personal attacks, Ted trains himself to withstand the barrages and to respond in kind.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of barrages

Verb

Marc Andreessen, whose venture firm Andreessen Horowitz pours billions into defense tech firms, including Anduril, was named to the Pentagon's defense policy board this summer, alongside Thiel Capital's Blake Masters.

— Samantha Subin, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
Draperies offer a visual divide, and natural sunlight pours through the windows to brighten the space.

— Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of pours

Verb

As winners take the stage, the audience showers them with paper airplanes.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Aug. 2026
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

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 pitch often floods after heavy rain; winter fixtures are often cancelled.

— Vanda Mayer, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
Boulder argued the companies and a trade group knew decades ago that fossil fuels would hurt the environment, raising the risk of floods, extreme heat and wildfires.

— Carrie Johnson, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of floods

Verb

Within the cells, electricity plates out pure elemental metals and selectively precipitates battery compounds like lithium carbonate.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
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

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