covenants 1 of 2

plural of covenant
1
as in treaties
a formal agreement between two or more nations or peoples the two countries signed a peace covenant that, it was hoped, would put an end to decades of bitter conflict

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2
3

covenants

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of covenant
1
as in bargains
to come to an arrangement as to a course of action a traditional rule held that a husband could not enter into a covenant with his wife, because that was the equivalent of covenanting with himself

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2
as in promises
to make a solemn declaration of intent the home buyers had to covenant that they would restore and keep the house for at least 10 years in exchange for a low mortgage rate

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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 covenants
Noun
Even after courts struck down the racial covenants in 1948, Levitt’s exclusion continued. Jonathan Tower, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 Your book deals with a piece of legislation called the Rumford Act that would tear down the city’s racist racial housing covenants in 1963, but the act in ’62 had enemies in high places, namely Mayor Sam Yorty and his power base. Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2026 San Jose Spotlight reported in 2024 that Los Gatos had about 130 racially restrictive covenants, which is racist language in property deeds that explicitly prevented homes from being sold to people of color. Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 17 June 2026 That contrasts with Cherry Hills Village, Bow Mar and Columbine Valley, where strict covenants block the development of attached housing. Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 17 June 2026 Like some other suburbs at the time, restrictive covenants kept minorities out. Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 June 2026 The eight units are to be identified as affordable in the project’s covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). Jim Drummond, Oc Register, 4 June 2026 The exhibit highlighted racially restrictive covenants, which didn’t allow communities of color to buy, own, use or rent properties often in suburban neighborhoods, including some in Johnson County. Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 2 June 2026 Washington County has fewer racial covenants compared to other counties, largely because major residential development took place after the Fair Housing Act was enacted, said Tom Hauer, the division manager of the county’s property records and taxpayer services department. Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 2 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for covenants
Noun
  • Congolese authorities withdrew an earlier case in 2001, and the court dismissed a second in 2006 for lack of jurisdiction, finding Rwanda had not signed or had entered reservations to some of the treaties Congo cited, or that other conditions for a case weren't met.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2026
  • The exhibition is set to chart the emergence of America through original documents, letters, maps, treaties and acts of Parliament.
    Adela Suliman, NBC news, 23 June 2026
Noun
  • In practice, governments still want contracts, jobs, and tax revenue at home.
    Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 6 July 2026
  • All three finished their entry-level contracts, but Gauthier is ineligible to receive an offer sheet.
    Eric Stephens, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Noun
  • But changing how the world executes agreements was never just about software.
    Keith Krach, Fortune, 3 July 2026
  • The company specializes in services like Offer in Compromise, installment agreements, and business tax resolution.
    Nick Perry, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Verb
  • The union usually bargains in the same year as performers’ union SAG-AFTRA and directors’ union the Directors Guild of America.
    Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 6 Apr. 2026
  • One potential—though untested—workaround would be for conferences, which are private entities, to serve as a joint employer that bargains with a players’ union.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The blurb promises a one-last-job kind of story, fitting for the conclusion to a modern classic of the crime genre.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
  • There's still a lot of manual campaign optimization and workflow management that needs rebuilding into agentic systems, but the next wave of AI (agentic) promises real change in how marketing campaign managers do their jobs.
    Phoena Pang, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Noun
  • Last year, Indiana ended the season with Taelon Peter, Ethan Thompson, and Jalen Slawson on two-way pacts.
    Tony East, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • But the number of teams still able to progress opens up the possibility of non-aggression pacts in this final round of group games, evoking memories of West Germany vs Austria at the 1982 World Cup.
    Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 24 June 2026
Noun
  • Over time, create a constituency of parents and young adults who prefer individualized market returns over the collective guarantees of the Social Security Trust Fund.
    Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • And strong support policies, such as an extended return window and money-back guarantees, now act as safeguards that can help customers feel more confident about their purchase.
    K.H. Koehler, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • Luke Russert joined his father for major political conventions and occasional shows on the road, Fischer Martin said.
    Jay Stahl, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Motown is part of the pitch to businesses considering Detroit for conventions, conferences and other large gatherings, Ollinger said.
    CBS News, CBS News, 1 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Covenants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/covenants. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

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