DailyWritingTips

50 Synonyms for “Assistant”

A number of words—many precise in meaning, as well as colorful and/or pejorative—exist to assist you in describing someone who works below another person. Here are fifty synonyms for assistant. 1. accomplice: an assistant, especially in the commission of a crime 2. adjunct: an assistant or associate (also, a short-term or junior faculty member, or … Read more

50 Synonyms for Control

Numerous words are available to take the place of control to more specifically convey one’s meaning. Here’s a list of synonyms and their senses. 1. Arrest: slow, stop, seize, or catch 2. Block: stop passage or progress; also, chart, shape, or mark outlines, and other meanings 3. Bottle: see restrain; also, literally or figuratively put … Read more

50 Synonyms for “Leader”

Here’s a list of words that can take the place of leader. 1. Administrator: a person with short-term or long-term responsibility — in the latter sense, usually a generic term; also, one given responsibility over an estate 2. Archon: one who presides (informal), or a chief magistrate in Athens in classical times 3. Autocrat: one … Read more

40 Synonyms for “Different”

Looking for a different way to say “different”? Here are forty more or less distinct synonyms, along with their sometimes similar, sometimes disparate meanings. 1. Alternate: arranged or occurring in turns, or see alternative; also, every other (also a verb) 2. Alternative: referring to a choice; also, apart from the conventional or usual 3. Assorted: … Read more

45 Synonyms for “Old” and “Old-Fashioned”

Our culture’s attitude toward age is reflected in the often-pejorative meanings of words synonymous with old and old-fashioned, though some are neutral or even reverent. Here are forty-five words that refer to people, places, and things that are, or are considered, old or old-fashioned. (Unrelated senses are also listed.) 1. Aged: advanced in age, typical … Read more

75 Synonyms for “Cheat,” “Fraud,” or “Trickery”

Human beings have developed cheating, fraud, and trickery into such a high art (or, more accurately, a low one) that, in English at least, we’ve created an extensive and colorful vocabulary to describe such activity. Here is an exhaustive but incomplete list of synonyms in noun and/or verb form for cheat, fraud, and trickery. 1. … Read more

25 Synonyms for “Sign” and “Symbol”

Various words referring to pictorial representations of objects or ideas often have precise connotations. Here are many words conveying subtle shades of meaning about signs and symbols. 1. Attribute: an object, especially in representational art, signifying a person or place, or authority (also, a characteristic or quality or a word describing a quality) 2. Badge: … Read more

8 Sneering Synonyms for “Obvious”

When we refer to something as being obvious, the connotation is often negative. Here are some synonyms for obvious that sometimes or always connote an uncomplimentary attitude about the subject at hand. 1. Blatant: crassly or offensively noisy, obtrusive, or obvious (possibly from the Latin word blatire, meaning “to chatter”) 2. Brazen: contemptuously bold (from … Read more

Synonyms for “Car”

The question of how to refer to one of the most integral artifacts of modern civilization illustrates the value of synonyms: The word a writer uses to refer to a car can assign value to that object and help the reader gauge nuances of the writer’s tone. Car is a perfectly suitable, utilitarian word, but … Read more

25 Synonyms for “Deceptive” and “Fake

Many words related to deceptive and fake exist, but some have specific senses for distinctive usage. Here are some alternatives to these terms and the related words deceitful and false and their connotations. 1. Assumed: pretended, as in “an assumed name,” referring to a pseudonym used to conceal one’s identity (and, as a verb, to … Read more

50 Synonyms for “Villain”

The store of synonyms for villain is so well stocked that it seems, well, villainous to employ that relatively colorless word in favor of many worthy substitutes — especially in humorous contexts. Here’s a roster of appropriate alternatives. 1. Baddie: a bad person, especially a villain or a villain’s underling in a novel, a film, … Read more