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as in expense
a payment made in the course of achieving a result the charges mounted at a dizzying pace as the building project went way over budget

Synonyms & Similar Words

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charge

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verb

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as in to ask
to set or receive as a price any shop would charge $100 to repair that thing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in to task
to give a task, duty, or responsibility to we're charging you with the care of your little sister while we're gone for the evening

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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb charge contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of charge are bid, command, direct, enjoin, instruct, and order. While all these words mean "to issue orders," charge adds to enjoin an implication of imposing as a duty or responsibility.

charged by the President with a secret mission

When is bid a more appropriate choice than charge?

While in some cases nearly identical to charge, bid suggests giving orders peremptorily (as to children or servants).

she bade him be seated

How are the words command and order related as synonyms of charge?

Both command and order imply authority and usually some degree of formality and impersonality; command stresses official exercise of authority.

a general commanding troops

How do direct and instruct relate to one another, in the sense of charge?

Direct and instruct both connote expectation of obedience and usually concern specific points of procedure or method, instruct sometimes implying greater explicitness or formality.

directed her assistant to hold all calls
the judge instructed the jury to ignore the remark

When would enjoin be a good substitute for charge?

The meanings of enjoin and charge largely overlap; however, enjoin implies giving an order or direction authoritatively and urgently and often with admonition or solicitude.

a sign enjoining patrons to be quiet

In what contexts can order take the place of charge?

The synonyms order and charge are sometimes interchangeable, but order may suggest peremptory or arbitrary exercise.

ordered his employees about like slaves

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 charge
Noun
But its February 2023 launch was plagued by glitches, confusion and accusations that its software led to people being arrested multiple times for the same charge. Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 18 Feb. 2025 Prosecutors re-filed the charge against Lor two weeks after Katz dismissed the count and this time named Shoal Creek’s principal, Harmeena Omoto, as the victim. City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
Verb
In California the situation is worse, with some grocery stores charging $9 or more for a dozen eggs and limiting the number of eggs customers can purchase. Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2025 When in use, the back-corner USB-C ports could prevent the laptop from opening fully, depending on the size of the cable plugged in, though HP’s own charging cable doesn't interfere. PCMAG, 16 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for charge 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for charge
Noun
  • Just eight days before the Burnsville shooting, Gooden went to a shooting range, according to the indictment.
    Alex Malm, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
  • He is charged in a racketeering indictment that accused him of running his political and government operations like a criminal enterprise.
    Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • SpaceX has been responsible for all by one of the missions flown from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral so far this year.
    Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2025
  • The Hubble Space Telescope has been aloft for 35 years and is still at work—thanks in part to the five servicing missions astronauts made to the telescope before the space shuttles were retired in 2011.
    Jeffrey Kluger/Greenbelt, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • In the Fort Worth Independent School District and across Texas, conversations about literacy instruction have largely focused on the early grades.
    Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Feb. 2025
  • The instructions said the test would take 20 minutes and require a pack of lancets.
    Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Ultimately, creating balance across the festival and making space for different perspectives is the responsibility of the Berlinale rather than individual films or filmmakers.
    Ellise Shafer, Variety, 11 Feb. 2025
  • There's also bipartisan pressure to enforce nonprofit hospitals' responsibility to provide charity care in exchange for their no-tax status, and to more closely examine a drug-purchasing program that many such facilities can take advantage of to get steep discounts on pharmaceuticals.
    Maya Goldman, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Former President Joe Biden issued Fauci a pre-emptive federal pardon as a hedge against what Biden said could be politically motivated attacks.
    Jim Turner, Orlando Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2025
  • On Friday and Saturday, the pope spoke on the phone to Rev. Gabriel Romanelli and his assistant, Father Yusuf Asad, in Gaza City, northern Gaza – who have been in frequent communication since Israel launched its war following the October 7 attacks.
    Antonia Mortensen, CNN, 17 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The cost ranges from $24 to $84, a one-time-only payment.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 8 Feb. 2025
  • The market for centers was pretty rough, without true difference-makers available at the cost being asked for.
    Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Each year, Valley Water provides funding for community projects that promote safe, clean drinking water, water conservation, flood protection and environmental stewardship in Santa Clara County.
    Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
  • During her stewardship, the Bears won a Super Bowl in 1986 and lost a second 21 years later.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Instead, Lamont says that some of the spending has been relatively minor, including that Cheng tipped too much on meals paid at taxpayers’ expense.
    Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2025
  • Their biggest expense was $1,112 on unlimited pizza and alcohol.
    Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near charge

Cite this Entry

“Charge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charge. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on charge

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