1
as in center
a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest
in the 19th century Paris was the focus of the art world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in compass
a guiding or motivating purpose or principle
a wildlife conservation organization that seems to have lost its focus
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to concentrate
to fix (as one's attention) steadily toward a central objective
try to focus your attention on the task at hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of focus
S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
At the moment, the Heat’s roster focus has to be on the Heat.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2025
Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 17 June 2025
Beauty, a cosmetics firm in California, said more companies need to focus on making young women feel seen and heard.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for focus
Noun
And a focus on an act does not remove the presence of an actor.
—S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
At the moment, the Heat’s roster focus has to be on the Heat.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2025
Verb
Trump said on social media that his call with Putin was focused on that conflict.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 17 June 2025
Beauty, a cosmetics firm in California, said more companies need to focus on making young women feel seen and heard.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for focus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for focus
Noun
-
The shifting narratives reflect the anxiety of Angelenos amid ICE raids targeting immigrants at Home Depots, churches and retail centers.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
-
New York City, USA; population 8.4 million New York arguably took over from Paris as the center of the art world in the early 20th-century with influential movements like Abstract Expressionism and artists like Pollock and Rothko and later Frankenthaler.—
Joanne Shurvell,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
Consistency reassures your stakeholders that your compass has not changed, even if the landscape has.—
Eric Reicin,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
-
The compass is pointing straight north after a 10-win season, something felt in the huddle and on every snap with Nix.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
Must be hard concentrating on work with all those Mauna Lani beach chairs beckoning.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
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This magisterial work, greeted with greatest praise from its first volume and still seen as a landmark of historical writing, concentrated on the late seventeenth century.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
Shockley, for instance, worked at Bell Labs, a mid-century hub that invented the modern solar cell and the first portable operating system.—
S. C. Cornell,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
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Demonstrations took place in hundreds of U.S. cities, according to Reuters, with large-scale gatherings reported in major hubs such as Philadelphia; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and New York.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 June 2025
Noun
-
Emerging from the London Underground, Turnpike Lane has a bustling shopping area in either direction: cafés, supermarkets and takeaways with plenty of people mulling about.—
Eduardo Tansley,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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For too long, the balance in Maryland has tipped entirely in one direction — shielding dangerous behavior while completely ignoring the voices of victims.—
Robin Grammer,
Baltimore Sun,
19 June 2025
Noun
-
Advertisement Iran’s fate will, and should, be written by Iranians—not in foreign capitals or closed rooms, but on their own streets, with their own voices, and through their own struggle.—
Nazanin Boniadi,
Time,
17 June 2025
-
The strikes wounded at least 177 others in the Ukrainian capital, according to officials.—
Kevin Shalvey,
ABC News,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
The vast majority of university endowments are restricted to specific purposes such as scholarships, professorships and other academic programs.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2025
-
While these measures aim to increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs by eliminating administrative burdens, DEI may have served a crucial purpose in enhancing VA services to its underserved veteran communities.—
Cristina Johnson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2025
Noun
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And while the epicenter of this movement is in Hardwick, Vermont – a town of 1,000 people that has transformed itself from a hardscrabble rural hamlet into a mecca of food and sustainability – the impacts go well beyond it.—
Riley Robinson,
Christian Science Monitor,
8 June 2025
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The moniker Mall was more about marketing than reality, which confused out-of-state visitors expecting a shopping mecca.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Focus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/focus. Accessed 24 Jun. 2025.
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