as in gods
a being having superhuman powers and control over a particular part of life or the world
to the ancient Greeks, Zeus was the deity who ruled over the sky and weather, and Poseidon was god of the sea
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 deities
In school, for instance, he was taught about ancient Greek deities, but there was no talk of a native pantheon of gods.
—
Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Whether through deities, numbers, planets or the seasons, people were always trying to understand themselves and their purpose on the planet.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
And yet for many years still, some societies fell back on naming deities for the wind, keeping it as an entity under celestial control, or having unfathomable consequences — and not wishing to pry too deeply into what caused it, taking a pre-Enlightenment attitude to it, letting the mystery be.
—Big Think, 18 Nov. 2025
Beijing’s temples are one of the busiest places to be during the Lunar New Year, with crowds packing temples to pay their respects to Buddhist deities.
—Jasmine Ting, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Nov. 2025
Culturally, Shinto and Buddhist traditions emphasize respect for life and nature, which are deeply valued in Japan; in Nagano and Gifu prefectures, black bears are sometimes revered as mountain deities, researchers wrote in a paper this summer.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
Dean boasts a great lineage coming from the prestigious BRIT School that produced music deities like Adele and Amy Winehouse.
—Christopher Claxton, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2025
Notably, archaeologists unearthed a large piece of amber and a terracotta female head used in ceremonies dedicated to water and fertility deities, Archaeology Newsstated.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2025
The ancient Egyptians thought children were gifts from the gods, and that they were protected by deities.
—K. Ward Cummings, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deities
gods
Noun
-
Versions of resolutions have existed for about 4,000 years; in Babylonia and ancient Rome, people prayed together, paid off their debts, and made promises of good conduct to their gods.—
-
That’s Jets-level misfortune; the football gods telling you to pack it up for the season.—
Cite this Entry
“Deities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deities. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share