as in dresses
to place on one's person
she donned her best gown for the ball
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Recent Examples of dons
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
New York City — deliciously camp and jarringly nostalgic, especially when Bateman dons his signature Walkman.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
Phoenix dons makeup and transforms, taking a disturbed disaster of a stand-up comedian down the dark and dangerous path to being a killer clown.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
Mader's is filled with Old-World charm from the outside to the dining room, an ornate space with Bavarian decor and a waitstaff that dons dirndls and lederhosen.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 6 Mar. 2026
The look in question was from the March 10, 1997 pilot episode ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’, in which Buffy dons a blue button-down top over a white tank top, complete with a messy updo and wispy bangs.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 1 Mar. 2026
That’s true at the end of the film but not at the beginning, when Jason dons the mask and murders his film professor.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Chin puts her hair up in a bun, dons a shawl and essentially becomes her mother.
—Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2026
Twiggy, who attended the brand’s spring 2026 show last September at the giant tent set up at Kensington Palace Gardens, sports a leather trenchcoat with fringe in the campaign, while Wigram dons a brown paisley laser-cut suede trenchcoat with whipstitching detail.
—Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 3 Feb. 2026
Verb
Alone and grieving the death of his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Peter dons a new comic-accurate red-and-blue suit and sets off once again to save the day.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
New York City — deliciously camp and jarringly nostalgic, especially when Bateman dons his signature Walkman.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
Phoenix dons makeup and transforms, taking a disturbed disaster of a stand-up comedian down the dark and dangerous path to being a killer clown.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
Mader's is filled with Old-World charm from the outside to the dining room, an ornate space with Bavarian decor and a waitstaff that dons dirndls and lederhosen.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 6 Mar. 2026
The look in question was from the March 10, 1997 pilot episode ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’, in which Buffy dons a blue button-down top over a white tank top, complete with a messy updo and wispy bangs.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 1 Mar. 2026
That’s true at the end of the film but not at the beginning, when Jason dons the mask and murders his film professor.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Chin puts her hair up in a bun, dons a shawl and essentially becomes her mother.
—Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2026
Twiggy, who attended the brand’s spring 2026 show last September at the giant tent set up at Kensington Palace Gardens, sports a leather trenchcoat with fringe in the campaign, while Wigram dons a brown paisley laser-cut suede trenchcoat with whipstitching detail.
—Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 3 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dons
Verb
-
Betty, attempting to paper over her unthinkable loss, dresses Laura in her daughter’s clothes, gives her her daughter’s place at family meals, has her daughter’s bike fixed to Laura’s height.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
-
For the uninitiated—and those without this excellent Instagram on your Explore page—the Sciura is a Milanese woman who dresses elegantly and impeccably.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Leakey did not send large research teams or established professors.—
Mireya Mayor,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Without its general-education designation, professors say, fewer students are likely to take it — a shift that could reduce enrollment in upper-level courses and hemorrhage tuition revenue from departments over time.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
There’s infectious joy and wonder as the Eridian who will come to be known as Rocky begins communicating with Ryland, at first with rudimentary signals and then with more complex language once Ryland rigs a translation device.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The American Jewish community responded to the Yom Kippur War, which killed nearly three thousand Israeli soldiers, by flooding Israel with donations; doctors and students volunteered to join the war effort.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
However, in a pair of letters to the editor published in the Journal of Pediatrics, doctors criticized the article as hyped.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Juan Baez, president of the Administrators and Supervisors Council and principal of the Milwaukee School of Languages, said deans and assistant principals are often the first to respond to safety concerns and conflicts.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Also, there are academic department consolidations under discussion with deans and faculty, the provost wrote.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Ashcraft tapped out before being ordered to dig a grave, get inside a body bag, and consider his eulogy as instructors piled dirt on top of him.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Accepted instructors set their rates and schedules, with site fees varying from 5% to 30% depending on lesson type.—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The club puts on six other events through its event-management division, Shift Events, including the Triple Bypass.—
John Meyer,
Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Ever optimistic, Mary puts on a happy face amid the chronic underemployment of her professor husband, Howard (Corey Stoll).—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
While certain formulas tend to work well on mature skin, there’s not one universal type that suits everyone over 50.—
Jenny Berg,
Glamour,
30 Mar. 2026
-
That intimate setup suits the candid subject matter of the new record, whose incubation—and attendant health scare—is among the topics explored in Philip Sherburne’s recent profile, Bill Callahan Laughs at Death.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dons. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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