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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in contracts
a formal agreement to fulfill an obligation
I had to sign a covenant that I would return the rental car on time
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in agreements
an arrangement about action to be taken
the covenant that existed among neighbors in olden times whereby they would quickly respond to the call to help put out one another's house fires
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of covenants
Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
Your neighbor may be violating the covenants, conditions and restrictions.
—Jeanne Phillips, Dallas Morning News, 29 Mar. 2026
For decades, discriminatory housing policies — including redlining, racially restrictive covenants and predatory land-sale contracts — systematically extracted the very wealth from Black families that fuels neighborhood investment.
—Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Early 20th-century deed covenants explicitly barred Black, Chinese, or Japanese residents from buying or renting homes in the neighborhood.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
Yolo County officials used technology to identify 1,172 documents that included restrictive covenants.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 8 Mar. 2026
Black Detroiters were systematically excluded from quality neighborhoods by restrictive covenants embedded in property deeds.
—Anita Moncrease, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2026
Jesse challenges fast-food chains into signing covenants with PUSH to hire and distribute proportionally to their black customers; Noah turns up with a chain of Wendy's, Bojangles, and Church's Fried Chicken in both Chicago and New York.
—Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
The circa-1974 building’s facade and some interior spaces must be preserved in keeping with historic covenants tied to the property.
—Madison Iszler, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Jan. 2026
Noun
Your neighbor may be violating the covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs).
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
Your neighbor may be violating the covenants, conditions and restrictions.
—Jeanne Phillips, Dallas Morning News, 29 Mar. 2026
For decades, discriminatory housing policies — including redlining, racially restrictive covenants and predatory land-sale contracts — systematically extracted the very wealth from Black families that fuels neighborhood investment.
—Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Early 20th-century deed covenants explicitly barred Black, Chinese, or Japanese residents from buying or renting homes in the neighborhood.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
Yolo County officials used technology to identify 1,172 documents that included restrictive covenants.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 8 Mar. 2026
Black Detroiters were systematically excluded from quality neighborhoods by restrictive covenants embedded in property deeds.
—Anita Moncrease, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2026
Jesse challenges fast-food chains into signing covenants with PUSH to hire and distribute proportionally to their black customers; Noah turns up with a chain of Wendy's, Bojangles, and Church's Fried Chicken in both Chicago and New York.
—Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
The circa-1974 building’s facade and some interior spaces must be preserved in keeping with historic covenants tied to the property.
—Madison Iszler, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for covenants
Noun
-
There is no permanent civilian population in Antarctica, and political demonstrations there are extremely rare due to environmental restrictions and international treaties governing the region.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
-
But a series of court decisions in the past 50 years has given the executive branch more leeway to withdraw from treaties.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Legislators meet weekly to discuss and pass local ordinances, approve municipal contracts and set policies that have a countywide impact, particularly for the unincorporated parts of the county.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
5 Apr. 2026
-
More than 80% of the players are free agents this year, as many players have expiring contracts or opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement.—
Anne M. Peterson,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
City officials and economic development professionals have claimed to have signed non-disclosure agreements with the company, limiting their ability to talk about the project publicly.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s March 23 visit to Russia included agreements on oil and gas cooperation, alongside nuclear energy, as rising diesel prices begin to squeeze Vietnam’s manufacturing sector.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
The performers’ union and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of companies like Netflix and Paramount, issued a short joint press release noting that their talks would continue.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The handlebar attaches to the scale with a retractable thermoplastic polyurethane cord and features a USB-C port on top for charging the scale's 1,000 mAh battery, which promises five months of power between charges.—
Andrew Gebhart,
PC Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
-
While the land is not part of the Lake Nona development, Tavistock does plan to develop acreage surrounding the warehouse park for its future Sunbridge plan, which promises to bring thousands of homes and apartments, hotel, office and retail space.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Brown told reporters the agreement with New Zealand didn’t affect his country’s other pacts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Ukraine signed 10-year security pacts with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with a UAE agreement expected soon, expanding Kyiv’s Middle Eastern defense partnerships.—
Volodymyr Yurchuk,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The contract with OpenAI includes guarantees for editorial independence, Lehane said.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The bulk of the market’s gains came from Tuesday’s session when an unconfirmed report said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was open to ending the war with guarantees.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
It’s been very exciting, seeing everyone at conventions dressed as me in my outfits.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The process is quick and unremarkable to anyone familiar with the studio-shoot culture of the city, where the backdrops change but the conventions stay the same.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Covenants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/covenants. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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