1
as in newspaper
a publication that appears at regular intervals
the local rag publishes more gossip than news
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2
as in clothing
rags plural
covering for the human body
the girls showed up at the prom wearing their most elegant rags
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
a collegiate rag that nearly got him sent down from Oxford
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
several readers called in to rag the editor for his paper's repeated grammatical lapses
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rag
India Roby, Architectural Digest, 4 May 2026
Use a rag to clean; do not soak your baskets.
—Ashley Poskin, Martha Stewart, 2 May 2026
Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 8 Mar. 2026
First, use a brush or rag to remove all loose soil particles from tools and pots.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rag
Noun
Like many rags-to-riches stories, the quintet’s rise to fame seemed fated.
—India Roby, Architectural Digest, 4 May 2026
Use a rag to clean; do not soak your baskets.
—Ashley Poskin, Martha Stewart, 2 May 2026
Verb
Each leaves different clues like slime trails, ragged edges, or missing buds.
—Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 8 Mar. 2026
First, use a brush or rag to remove all loose soil particles from tools and pots.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rag
Noun
-
The university's newspaper The Daily Nexus reported that campus crime rates have been on the rise since 2022 — with more reports of rape, dating violence and stalking.—
Bethany Brown,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
-
In February, a local newspaper, the Big Bend Sentinel, reported that construction was imminent.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Noun
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Denise and Mohamed bought new clothing for the other children, whereas Djena was given ratty hand-me-downs—even her bras were Denise’s castoffs.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
How The Partnership Came About Kelce, who even founded his own clothing company, is a longtime fan of fashion.—
Jeff Fedotin,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
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But the prank could come with legal consequences.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
13 May 2026
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Students entered Christ The King Catholic High School after hours on April 22 to stage a senior prank.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
12 May 2026
Verb
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The feeling was less substantial, more childish, like expecting someone to walk in and scold you for doing something wrong and not knowing where to hide.—
Francesco Pacifico,
The Dial,
12 May 2026
-
Stumbling on to this ruse, Antoine’s friend and manager Armand (Gilles Lellouche) immediately can tell Suzanne is a fake and scolds her for exploiting his friend’s grief.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
Noun
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Science communication still relies on media channels such as newspapers, periodicals, radio, and television.—
Prodromos Yannas,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
14 May 2026
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The gala’s funds support acquisitions of garments and accessories, but also the institute’s reference library, which holds over 800 periodicals and 1,500 designer files pertaining to the history of fashion and clothing, dating back to the sixteenth century.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
Noun
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Winston makes a cameo to execute another electric Ford Field trick play, and the Giants lose a close one with their offense starting to find a new gear.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
Sophisticated as chatbots’ responses may be, they are stitched together from statistical patterns in large datasets—an impressive trick but one that still falls short of the breadth and reliability in human-level clinical reasoning.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The cruel cartoon of a constantly shrewish, venal, and disloyal Mary began cementing itself in the public mind when William Herndon, Lincoln’s Springfield law partner, started lecturing about his reminiscences within months of the President’s murder.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Also, don’t lecture your teens and don’t expect constant gratitude.—
Judy Koutsky,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
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Now, in the journal Nature Neuroscience, a team describes a solution that decodes a person's brain waves to choose which voice their hearing system will amplify.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
14 May 2026
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In a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, Chinese geneticist Fu Qiaomei and her colleagues successfully extracted and analyzed ancient enamel proteins from the teeth unearthed at three sites in China.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rag. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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