Enter a word, phrase, description, or pattern above to find synonyms, related words, and more.
Concept clusters in the subject Animals (Top)
Agricultural pests or insects Algal taxonomy Animal anatomy Animal anatomy (2) Animal anatomy and locomotion Animal anatomy and morphology Animal anatomy and morphology (2) Animal anatomy and morphology (3) Animal families or groups Animal families or species Animal families or subfamilies Animal taxa Animal traits or taxonomy Ants and ant species Ape and human ancestry Apiculture Arthropod anatomy Arthropod anatomy (2) Arthropod and worm anatomy Arthropod morphology Arthropods and mollusks Australian and regional fauna Avian anatomy Avian traits Bat diversity Bears or bear species Bee species and beekeeping Beetles Beetles and bugs Beetles or types of beetles Biological morphologies Bird anatomy Bird families or species Bird morphology Bird species Bird species (2) Bird species and bird care Bird watching and bird care Bird wings Birdwatching or ornithology Botany (3) Botany or horticulture Botany taxonomy Breeds or types Breeds or types of dogs Butterfly species Canine species and subspecies Carnivorous mammals Carnivorous mammals (2) Cephalopod shell morphology Cetaceans Coral biology Corals and coral species Corals and sea anemones Crayfish and similar species Crustaceans Deer and antelope species Different species of frogs Different species of insects Different types of beetles Different types of beetles (2) Different types of tails Dipterans Diverse fish species Diverse fish species (2) Dog breeds Dog breeds and terms Dog care or dog activities Dog in popular culture Dolphin species Dolphins and whales Domesticated or captive birds Dragons Elephants and large mammals Endangered or rare animals Entomology Entomology (2) Exotic and mythical creatures Exotic or lesser-known species Extinct animals Falconry Fauna categories Feathers or bird anatomy Feet and Walking Feline breeds and terminology Fins Fish Species and Orders Fish Species and Orders (2) Fish anatomy Fish anatomy (2) Fish families or orders Fish or aquatic animals Fish species Fish species or families Fish species or families (2) Fishing varieties Flies Flies and flying insects Floriculture or horticulture Flowering or blooming Flowers or flowering plants Fossils Fox Frogs and toads Fungal taxonomy Fungi classification Herpetofauna Herpetofauna (2) Hominin evolution Horns or horned creatures Hound breeds Hound dogs Hunting dogs or hound breeds Hunting or sports Insect anatomy Insect and arthropod diversity Insect families or groups Insect morphology Insect pests in agriculture Insect taxonomy Insect taxonomy (2) Insects Insects and entomology Insects or arthropods Insects or insect orders Invertebrate anatomy (2) Invertebrate anatomy (3) Invertebrate marine biology Invertebrate zoology Invertebrates Jellyfish and other cnidarians Larvae and worms Lepidoptera taxonomy Limb count or limb type Limbs and behaviors Lion Varieties Lizards and tortoises Local seafood names Mammal taxa Mammalogy Mammals and birds Marine biology Marine invertebrates Marine invertebrates (10) Marine invertebrates (11) Marine invertebrates (12) Marine invertebrates (2) Marine invertebrates (3) Marine invertebrates (4) Marine invertebrates (5) Marine invertebrates (6) Marine invertebrates (7) Marine invertebrates (8) Marine invertebrates (9) Marine life Marine mammals and fish Marine mollusks or seashells Marine mollusks or shellfish Marine mollusks or shells Marine organisms Marine species or organisms Marine taxonomy Microorganisms Microorganisms (2) Microorganisms or protists Mollusk shell morphology Mollusks Mollusks (2) Monkey and lemur species Morphology and structure Moths Moths (2) Moths and flies Mouthparts or oral structures Mushroom morphology Mythical creatures or beasts Nectar Obscure fish species Octopus Odonata species Odonata species (2) Orangutan Ornithology Oyster farming Oysters or clams Paleontological features Parasitic insects Parasitic worms or helminths Parasitic worms or helminths (2) Parasitic worms or helminths (3) Pigeons and bird species Pigeons and related species Plant diseases Plant morphology Plant morphology (2) Plant morphology or structure Plant parts and structures Plant structures or parts Plumage in birds Prehistoric animals Prehistoric animals (2) Prehistoric creatures Prehistoric fish species Prehistoric ichthyofauna Prehistoric or extinct species Prehistoric or extinct species (2) Prehistoric or extinct species (3) Prehistoric reptiles Primates and other small mammals Primates or monkeys Protective or outer layer Protists or protozoa Protozoology Protozoology (2) Rat Species and Terms Reproduction Reptiles Reptiles and amphibians Reptilian Rhinoceros anatomy and species Rodents Rodents and small mammals Rodents and small mammals (2) Salmon and trout species Scale-like or rough Sea invertebrates Seals Seals and seal-like species Shape and structure in biology Shape or form Shark species Shellfish or mollusks Small mammals Small mammals (2) Small marsupials and rodents Small rodents Snake and rodent species Snake interaction Snakes Species Species of sharks Specific dog breeds Specific insect taxa Specific taxa Spider and arachnid taxa Spiders or types of spiders Sponges and marine equivalents Squids and other cephalopods Starfish and brittle stars Studying birds Studying insects Taxonomy Taxonomy (2) Turtle varieties Types of fish species Varieties of fungi Various mushrooms Various species of snakes Various spiders Whale species and types Wing Components Wolf in various contexts Working dogs Working dogs (2) Working dogs (3) Worm species or types of worms Worm-related activities Worms Worms (2) Zoology Zoology (3) Zoology (5)


This subject index is an experimental OneLook feature. We've grouped words and phrases into thousands of clusters based on a statistical analysis of how they are used in writing. Some of the words and concepts may be vulgar or offensive. The names of the clusters were written automatically and may not precisely describe every word within them.

How do I use OneLook's thesaurus / reverse dictionary?

OneLook helps you find words for any type of writing. Similar to a traditional thesaurus, it find synonyms and antonyms, but it offers much greater depth and flexibility. Simply enter a single word, a few words, or even a whole sentence to describe what you need. Press Enter or choose from the autocomplete suggestions to explore related words. You can sort, filter, and explore the words that come back in a variety of creative ways. Here's a video which goes over some of the basics.

What are some examples?

Task
Example searches
🔆 Find a word by describing it barrel maker
before the flood
museum guide
search for food
urge to travel
what a milliner makes
tried twice for the same crime
when cancer spreads through the body
🔆 Explore synonyms and related concepts fancy
baseball
clouds
twisty
push
industrial revolution
🔆 Get a list of words in some category ("type of...") type of bird of prey
type of soft cheese
type of light bulb
🔆 Find more words similar to some examples (comma-separated list) squishy,spongy,gooey
bicycle,motorcycle,scooter
ice cream,pie,cookies
🔆 Answer basic identification questions capital of Vietnam
longest river in the world
original host of Jeopardy
🔆 Solve crossword puzzle clues, or find words if you only know some of the letters.
(Use pattern:description syntax) 		??lon:synthetic fabric
s?nt?:christmas
l*ch*:fruit
??????:hit
c*:board game

Exploring the results

Click on any result to see definitions and usage examples tailored to your search, as well as links to follow-up searches and additional usage information when available. OneLook knows about more than 2 million different words and expressions covering every topic under the sun. Try exploring a favorite topic for a while and you'll be surprised how much new stuff there is to learn!

Ordering the results

Your results will initially appear with the most closely related word shown first, the second-most closely shown second, and so on. You can re-order the results in a variety of different ways, including alphabetically, by length, by popularity, by modernness, by formality, and by other aspects of style. Click the box that says "Closest meaning first..." to see them all. (Here's a short video about sorting and filtering with OneLook Thesaurus.)

Filtering the results

You can refine your search by clicking on the "Advanced filters" button on the results page. This lets you narrow down your results to match a certain starting letter, number of letters, number of syllables, related concept, meter, vowel sound, or number of syllables. Read more details on filters if you're interested in how they work.

I'm only looking for synonyms! What's with all of these weird results?

For some kinds of searches only the first result or the first few results are truly synonyms or good substitutions for your search word. We highlight these results in yellow. Beyond that, the results are meant to inspire you to consider similar words and adjacent concepts. Not all of the results will make sense at first, but they're all connected with your search in some way. We'd rather give you too many options than too few. If you're unsure of a word, we urge you to click on it to check its definitions and usage examples before using it in your Oscars acceptance speech or honors thesis.

What are letter patterns?

If you know some letters in the word you're looking for, you can enter a pattern instead of, or in addition to, a description. Here are how patterns work:
  • The asterisk (*) matches any number of letters. That means that you can use it as a placeholder for any part of a word or phrase. For example, if you enter blueb* you'll get all the terms that start with "blueb"; if you enter *bird you'll get all the terms that end with "bird"; if you enter *lueb* you'll get all the terms that contain the sequence "lueb", and so forth. An asterisk can match zero letters, too.

  • The question mark (?) matches exactly one letter. That means that you can use it as a placeholder for a single letter or symbol. The query l?b?n?n,  for example, will find the word "Lebanon".

  • The number-sign (#) matches any English consonant. For example, the query tra#t finds the word "tract" but not "trait".

  • The at-sign (@) matches any English vowel (including "y"). For example, the query abo@t finds the word "about" but not "abort".

  • NEW! The comma (,) lets you combine multiple patterns into one. For example, the query ?????,*y* finds 5-letter words that contain a "y" somewhere, such as "happy" and "rhyme".

  • NEW! Use double-slashes (//) before a group of letters to unscramble them (that is, find anagrams.) For example, the query //soulbeat will find "absolute" and "bales out", and re//teeprsn will find "represent" and "repenters". You can use another double-slash to end the group and put letters you're sure of to the right of it. For example, the query //blabrcs//e will find "scrabble". Question marks can signify unknown letters as usual; for example, //we??? returns 5-letter words that contain a W and an E, such as "water" and "awake".

  • NEW! A minus sign (-) followed by some letters at the end of a pattern means "exclude these letters". For example, the query sp???-ei finds 5-letter words that start with "sp" but do not contain an "e"or an "i", such as "spoon" and "spray".

  • NEW! A plus sign (+) followed by some letters at the end of a pattern means "restrict to these letters". For example, the query *+ban finds "banana".

  • On OneLook's main search or directly on OneLook Thesaurus, you can combine patterns and thesaurus lookups by putting a colon (:) after a pattern and then typing a description of the word, as in ??lon:synthetic fabric and the other examples above.

Other ways to access this service:

Is this available in any language other than English?

The same interface is now available in Spanish at OneLook Tesauro as a beta version. More languages are coming!

How does it work?

We use a souped-up version of our own Datamuse API, which in turn uses several lingustic resources described in the "Data sources" section on that page. The definitions come from Wiktionary, Wikipedia, and WordNet. Here are some known problems with the current system.
Much gratitude to Gultchin et al for the algorithm behind the "Most funny-sounding" sort order.

Profanity and problematic word associations

If you're using this site with children, be forewarned you'll occasionally find profanity and other vulgar expressions. (The site aims to show you how words have been used in the language, including good ones and bad ones. Removing hurtful words would be a disservice to everyone!)

Some of the thesaurus results come from a statistical analysis of the words in a large collection of books written in the past two centuries. A handful of times we've found that this analysis can lead us to suggest word associations that reflect racist or harmful stereotypes present in this source material. If you see one of these, please know that we do not endorse what the word association might imply. In egregious cases we will remove it from the site if you report it to us via the feedback link below.

Privacy

No personally identifying information is ever collected on this site or by any add-ons or apps associated with OneLook. OneLook Thesaurus sends your search query securely to the Datamuse API, which keeps a log file of the queries made to the service in the last 24 hours. The log file is deleted after 24 hours and we do not retain any long-term information about your IP address or invididual queries.

Who's behind this site and where can I send my comments and complaints feedback?

OneLook is a service of Datamuse. You can send us feedback here.

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