as in tendency
a habitual attraction to some activity or thing
left to her own devices she'd eat at a fast-food restaurant every night of the week
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 devices
However, instead of removing the minerals from the water, these devices make the minerals soluble in the water.
—
Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Mar. 2025
However, these incidents underscore the importance of regularly updating your devices to stay protected against evolving threats.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
This vulnerability resides in WebKit, the open-source browser engine that powers Safari, Mail, App Store and other apps on Apple devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
Efficient energy storage is crucial for the transition to a low-carbon economy, which can impact everything from grid-scale energy storage to electric vehicles and portable devices.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Mar. 2025
In an unprecedented move, our public schools handed out hundreds of thousands of devices to help more than 1 million students continue to safely learn online with their teachers and classmates.
—Dr. Mitchell Katz, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2025
Apple’s warnings — just like Google’s recent Android alerts — relate to forensic exploitation of devices or targeted, quasi nation state level targeting of individuals and groups.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Just in time for Christmas, certain members of Congress are hard at work in their policy shops, fashioning a massive lump of cybersecurity coal with which to gift American users of electronic devices.
—David Williams, National Review, 26 Dec. 2024
Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Mar. 2025
However, these incidents underscore the importance of regularly updating your devices to stay protected against evolving threats.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
This vulnerability resides in WebKit, the open-source browser engine that powers Safari, Mail, App Store and other apps on Apple devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
Efficient energy storage is crucial for the transition to a low-carbon economy, which can impact everything from grid-scale energy storage to electric vehicles and portable devices.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Mar. 2025
In an unprecedented move, our public schools handed out hundreds of thousands of devices to help more than 1 million students continue to safely learn online with their teachers and classmates.
—Dr. Mitchell Katz, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2025
Apple’s warnings — just like Google’s recent Android alerts — relate to forensic exploitation of devices or targeted, quasi nation state level targeting of individuals and groups.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Just in time for Christmas, certain members of Congress are hard at work in their policy shops, fashioning a massive lump of cybersecurity coal with which to gift American users of electronic devices.
—David Williams, National Review, 26 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devices
Noun
-
This practice has fostered a tendency to conflate diagnosis with management frameworks, confuse co-morbidities with symptoms, and ultimately blur the distinction between obesity as a risk factor and as a disease state.—
Francesco Rubino,
Time,
9 July 2025
-
The bill ultimately continues a generations-long Republican tendency to transfer wealth upward while abandoning working Americans. Davis: The wealth transfer Trump seeks is from government to taxpayers.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Each drill was designed to test Beringer’s physical makeup and his aptitude for the game.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
11 July 2025
-
The Watch 8 series also offers a 12-minute running test to gauge your current aptitude for the activity from 1 (beginner) to 10 (pro).—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
At a June 5 press conference, one day after the General Assembly closed the regular 2024 session, the governor gave his strongest indication to date of an inclination to seek another four-year term with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
3 July 2025
-
At the Soul Train Awards in 1997, Da Brat arrived outfitted in a similarly referential look, but her look evoked tomboy inclinations.—
Julian Randall,
Essence,
3 July 2025
Noun
-
But for Bolduc, despite Gorton’s history of affinity for him, that is more of a projection with a far smaller sample of data to work with.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
9 July 2025
-
What Readers Loved About Canada Resorts Canada is teeming with gorgeous coastlines, mountains, lakes, and forests—and our readers have a clear affinity for resorts within close proximity of these natural features.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
The song captures Secor’s complicated affections for a city that is rapidly changing.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
11 July 2025
-
The point isn’t just that stalwart reporter Lois Lane (played here, appealingly enough, by Rachel Brosnahan) can swoon over Superman and feel only mild affection for Clark Kent, ostensibly because women tend to go for the hot guy over the nice one.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
That first impulse to vent or demand immediate action is rarely your friend.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
Muscle Stimulation — Ayers and her fellow NASA flight engineer Anne McClain used electrodes to send electrical impulses into Ayers' legs as a possible countermeasure to muscle atrophy.—
Robert Z. Pearlman,
Space.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
The cases against Oren and Alon Alexander remain pending and nothing involving the disposition of this case affects the cases against the Alexander brothers.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 July 2025
-
The Supreme Court may decide on the case as early as June 12, and a majority of justices have signaled a friendly disposition toward upholding Tennessee’s law that took effect in June 2023.—
Liam Adams,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Devices.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devices. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share