as in to friend
to become a friend to (someone)
He befriended the new student.
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Recent Examples of befriend
There was also an introductory interlude with a curly-haired vampire — those of you who watched season two of Interview With the Vampire may recognize Felix — who befriends Lasher on a park bench and urges him to drop his human impulse to empathy.
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Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025
Regan befriended Bridger, who died in 1881 blind and penniless after living his final years in Westport, and rubbed shoulders with the James brothers.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025
Toni Greenberg, 68, of Reisterstown, Md., who lost her husband about a decade ago, befriended two more recent widows on a 2023 trip to Rome with the tour company Road Scholar, and this year, the trio is traveling to Costa Rica together on another Road Scholar trip.
—Julie Weed, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
Facing an epic bout of writers’ block while cooped up in a rotting Los Angeles hotel, Barton befriends a diabolically charismatic traveling salesman named Charlie (Goodman) who’s staying down the hall.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for befriend 
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025
Regan befriended Bridger, who died in 1881 blind and penniless after living his final years in Westport, and rubbed shoulders with the James brothers.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025
Toni Greenberg, 68, of Reisterstown, Md., who lost her husband about a decade ago, befriended two more recent widows on a 2023 trip to Rome with the tour company Road Scholar, and this year, the trio is traveling to Costa Rica together on another Road Scholar trip.
—Julie Weed, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
Facing an epic bout of writers’ block while cooped up in a rotting Los Angeles hotel, Barton befriends a diabolically charismatic traveling salesman named Charlie (Goodman) who’s staying down the hall.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for befriend
Thesaurus Entries Near befriend
Cite this Entry
“Befriend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befriend. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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