1
as in storms
a steady falling of water from the sky in significant quantity
the rain continued for most of the day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rains
Tony Sadiku, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Then unseasonal rains in January exposed plants to early blight, fungal disease that thrives in wet conditions.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 June 2026
Northeastern Africa is likely going to get weather whiplash from intense drought to dangerously heavy rains, said Columbia University climate scientist and El Nino expert Muhammad Azhar Ehsan.
—Seth Borenstein, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026
Torrential rains rendered the two grass fields unplayable.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
The heavy rains across the Great Plains and Midwest came a day after destructive thunderstorms hit parts of Kansas, including the city of Salina.
—Melissa Griffin, ABC News, 9 June 2026
Heavy rains from a typhoon delayed the search until Wednesday, according to Takuya Nishikawa of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 6 June 2026
Melissa slammed Jamaica after drenching southern Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic with heavy rains before continuing on to Cuba.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
But when rains fall heavily between November and April, sticky clay soils make traveling around it tricky.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
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
This dust accumulates in the corners, lurks under the sofa, and rains down on your lampshades.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
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
Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the lava-licked ground.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Now, in preparation for a ground invasion, Israel rains yet more American bombs on Gaza City—another round of mindless, brutal violence against a population that has endured it every day for almost two years.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
These storms will be capable of producing damaging winds, hail, and torrential rains.
—Tony Sadiku, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Then unseasonal rains in January exposed plants to early blight, fungal disease that thrives in wet conditions.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 June 2026
Northeastern Africa is likely going to get weather whiplash from intense drought to dangerously heavy rains, said Columbia University climate scientist and El Nino expert Muhammad Azhar Ehsan.
—Seth Borenstein, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026
Torrential rains rendered the two grass fields unplayable.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
The heavy rains across the Great Plains and Midwest came a day after destructive thunderstorms hit parts of Kansas, including the city of Salina.
—Melissa Griffin, ABC News, 9 June 2026
Heavy rains from a typhoon delayed the search until Wednesday, according to Takuya Nishikawa of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 6 June 2026
Melissa slammed Jamaica after drenching southern Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic with heavy rains before continuing on to Cuba.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
But when rains fall heavily between November and April, sticky clay soils make traveling around it tricky.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Verb
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
This dust accumulates in the corners, lurks under the sofa, and rains down on your lampshades.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
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
Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the lava-licked ground.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Now, in preparation for a ground invasion, Israel rains yet more American bombs on Gaza City—another round of mindless, brutal violence against a population that has endured it every day for almost two years.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rains
Noun
-
Damaging wind gusts potentially topping 75 mph will take over as the main threat later Wednesday night, with individual storms expected to merge into cohesive lines from eastern Kansas first and eventually expand to western Ohio.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
-
The storms are expected to move quickly, at approximately 50 miles per hour or greater.—
Albert Ramon,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Surely that painful lesson helped Brunson weather the Spurs barrages.—
Sean Woods,
Rolling Stone,
15 June 2026
-
Paltrow also has a record of weathering barrages of negative public opinion.—
Kelly Hartog,
Sun Sentinel,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Set within the Benedictine Abbey of Weltenburg, which sits just above a bend in the Danube River, the grounds include a beer garden that’s breathtakingly beautiful but pours only one of the brewery’s three alcohol‑free varieties.—
David Dickstein,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
-
But that overhauled tap system pours very nicely, so order a Manny’s—a pale ale from the local Georgetown Brewing Company that’s a local staple and accessible mid-point in flavor profile between hoppy craft ale and mild old-school lager.—
Mark DeJoy,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Water elements are abundant; all rooms include indoor and outdoor rainforest showers along with soaking tubs; some also feature private plunge pools.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Bradley likes to brush her biscuits with heavy cream to lend a nice shiny coat and promote a golden crown, then showers them with poppy seeds and salt for extra crunch and flavor.—
Karla Walsh,
Southern Living,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Recent storms and heavy rainfalls caused the area to flood again, prompting the city to jump back into action.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Wild extremes of temperature, a heat dome, a potent bomb cyclone blizzard, epic rainfalls and violent tornadoes have wreaked weather havoc across the nation.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Extreme floods that once swamped coastal communities only rarely are becoming far more common as climate change caused by humans pushes sea levels higher, according to new research.—
Alexa St. John,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
-
Gulf Coast states already dealing with massive floods are bracing for even more extreme weather as the first tropical storm of the season could form as early as Tuesday night.—
Kenton Gewecke,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
The hydrogen sulfide reacts with the iron content of the egg yolk, which precipitates into iron sulfide, a green-colored mineral.—
Taylor Tobin,
Southern Living,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Habermas also lavishes attention on coffeehouses, reading clubs, salons, and other in-between places where new ideas were taking shape.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
15 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
Cite this Entry
“Rains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rains. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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