1
as in to condescend
to assume or treat with an air of superiority
a director with an unpleasant habit of patronizing even his most gifted actors
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to endorse
to promote the interests or cause of
a company that loyally patronizes the arts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patronize
Despite the recent boom in homeschooling—and the rapid growth of voucher systems, which provide public dollars for private schools—most Americans continue to patronize their local public schools.
—
Jonathan Zimmerman, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, people on both sides of the divide say Weiss and her senior leaders have brought a newspaper journalist’s sometimes patronizing attitude to television broadcasting.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 23 Dec. 2025
In Facebook posts responding to the fire, residents encouraged each other to patronize the second restaurant to support the family.
—Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
So, the Miami Herald compiled a sampling of small Black businesses to consider patronizing for the holiday season.
—Miami Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patronize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patronize
Verb
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Some novels convey a pretense of collaboration with the reader or salute a familiar world; Bennett’s neither achieves this nor condescends to attempt it.—
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Narcissists are known for their sense of entitlement, self-centeredness, superiority complex, and condescending attitude toward others.—
Verb
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Surely, these federal workers endorse truth, justice and the American way of ignoring traffic laws.—
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Many use-of-force policies adopted by police departments endorse that principle.—
Verb
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Local residents have advocated for a more permanent solution to the violent elephant encounters, and for the families of the deceased to be compensated.—
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The Department of Angels is a nonprofit organization that advocates for wildfire survivors.—
Verb
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Carolina cut the lead 17-14 at halftime after a 1-yard touchdown run by Hubbard and a 16-yard scramble by Young, the second-longest TD run of his career.—
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This same staff cut him to make room for a waiver-wire claim before the start of the 2024 season.—
Verb
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Invest in fiction written by humans and so support human creativity, vocations, and organic economies?—
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The Football Association of Ireland passed the resolution, proposed by Irish club Bohemians, with more than 50% of its delegates supporting it.—
Cite this Entry
“Patronize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patronize. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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