as in chooses
to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities
selected only two people out of 300 applicants for the summer internship
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Recent Examples of selects
Each year, the Senate selects one of its members, alternating parties, to read Washington’s 7,641-word address aloud in a legislative session.
—
Tiago Ventura, Time, 14 Feb. 2026
Like Victor Frankenstein, who diligently selects body parts from corpses to stitch together his humanoid creation, the Mexican director carefully assembled his troupe of movie magicians.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Decoding refers to how a model selects its output from a range of probable answers.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2026
Each location’s management selects the beers on tap.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 3 Feb. 2026
Roc Nation, Jay-Z's company, oversees halftime production and selects the performer.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
Padilla selects each word carefully — about trans people and drag queens, about guns.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
Rick Warner, the director of film studies at the University of North Carolina, deliberately selects films with slow pacing and subtle details, such as Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, a three-hour movie that mostly follows a woman doing chores in her apartment.
—Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
The program selects 100 students who are entering their junior year of college.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 30 Jan. 2026
Tiago Ventura, Time, 14 Feb. 2026
Like Victor Frankenstein, who diligently selects body parts from corpses to stitch together his humanoid creation, the Mexican director carefully assembled his troupe of movie magicians.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Decoding refers to how a model selects its output from a range of probable answers.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2026
Each location’s management selects the beers on tap.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 3 Feb. 2026
Roc Nation, Jay-Z's company, oversees halftime production and selects the performer.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026
Padilla selects each word carefully — about trans people and drag queens, about guns.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
Rick Warner, the director of film studies at the University of North Carolina, deliberately selects films with slow pacing and subtle details, such as Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, a three-hour movie that mostly follows a woman doing chores in her apartment.
—Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
The program selects 100 students who are entering their junior year of college.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selects
Verb
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Once the soil is ready, Ryan chooses an appropriately sized container for each succulent.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
10 Feb. 2026
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Life is for love to be fully present and ingrained in every action that one chooses to do.—
Taylor Crumpton,
Time,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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According to him, the goal is to build a system that modernizes the full lifecycle of a prescription from the moment it’s written to when the patient picks it up, and ideally beyond.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
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Her top picks for what to turn to instead include burgundy and oxblood.—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Selects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/selects. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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