Enter a word, phrase, description, or pattern above to find synonyms, related words, and more.
Concept clusters in the subject Languages and cultures (Top)
Abbreviations Aboriginal languages Academic disciplines AfPak ethnic groups African cities African cities or regions African cities or towns African colonialism African diasporic identities African languages African regional studies African traditions Afrikaner culture Alma mater nicknames American and Pacific Creoles American indigenous languages Amerind Ancient Greek Geography Ancient Greek cities Ancient Greek city-states Ancient Greek city-states (2) Ancient Greek city-states (3) Ancient Greek regions Ancient North Africa and Middle East Ancient cities and regions Ancient cities or regions Ancient civilizations Ancient civilizations (2) Ancient civilizations (3) Ancient regions or cities Ancient tribes Anglophilia or Anglophobia Antiquity Arab culture or Arab world Arabic linguistic diversity Armenian cities Australian Austronesian-Papuan languages Autonomy or self-governance (2) Aztec Civilization Aztec culture and civilization Aztec culture and civilization (2) Balkan geography Belgian cities and regions Bodies of water Brazilian Cities British culture or identity British universities California's Indigenous Cultures Canadian nationality Capital cities in Africa Caribbean Islands Caribbean or Atlantic islands Caribbean towns and cities Celtic and Germanic languages Central Asia or Middle East Central geographical areas Cities and towns in Germany Cities in Albania and Kosovo Cities in Croatia Cities in Southeast Europe Cities or regions in Myanmar Cities or towns in Denmark Cities or towns in Myanmar Cities or towns in West Africa Cities/towns Classical Greece Classical Greek philosophy Classical lore Classical mythology Commonwealth Constructed languages Constructed languages (2) Countries and territories Countries or regions Croatian localities Czech Republic Czech culture and history Demonyms Demonyms (2) Demonyms (3) Derived from Dialects or languages Diasporic Mexican Identity Different periods Direction (2) Directions Directions or compass points Dominican Republic Dutch localities Dutch or The Netherlands Dutch-Flemish Varieties East European and Russian geographies Eastern European Cities Endangered languages/dialects English language Estonian counties and cities Ethiopian affairs Ethnic groups or languages Ethnicity or nationality Eurasian Geography Eurasian cultures Eurasian ethnicities/languages Filipino identity Finnish localities Football teams and nicknames Former Yugoslav states French geography French language and culture French rivers French towns and departments Gaelic and Celtic heritage Geo-identity Geographical Locations Geographical Locations (2) Geographical Locations (3) Geographical Locations (4) Geographical features Geographical location Geographical location (2) Geographical locations Geographical locations (2) Geographical locations (3) Geographical locations (4) Geographical locations (5) Geographical locations (7) Geographical regions Geographies Geology (4) Georgian cities and regions German cities and regions German locations or regions Germanic languages Germanic languages (2) Greece or Greek culture Greek Cities Greek Mythology Greek and Roman mythology Greek culture and civilization Greek god epithets Greek mythological figures Hawaiian cities and towns Hellenic antiquity Himalayan and Karakoram ranges Hispanic regions/cities Historical cultures Historical wars and conflicts Identity (2) India and its diverse culture Indian languages and tribes Indian subcontinent languages Indigenous Indigenous cultures Indigenous languages Indigenous languages/cultures Indigenous peoples Indigenous tribes or languages Indigenous tribes or languages (2) Indo-Asian languages Indo-European languages Indo-Malay Locations Indo-Papuan tribes and languages Inuit culture and tradition Iranian languages Irish Culture and Identity Irish culture Island biogeography Islands in Indonesia Islands in the Caribbean Islands in the Pacific Ocean Islands or island groups Islands or island groups (2) Italian Cities Khwarezm Kim Jong-un's leadership Korean and Vietnamese locales Language or dialect Languages Languages (2) Languages (3) Languages (4) Languages or dialects Languages or dialects (2) Languages or dialects (3) Languages or dialects in India Languages or ethnic groups Languages or ethnic groups (2) Languages or language families Languages or language groups Latin American cities Latin American identity Latin and its dialects Latin language and culture Levant Linguistic diversity Linguistic groups Linguists Local Cultures & Languages Locals Locals or localities Locations in the U.S Luxembourg's Geography MECA regions MENA Cities/Towns MENA cities or locations Mediterranean and global islands Mesoamerican Mesoamerican languages Mesoamericanism Mexican cities Micronesian and Polynesian locales Middle Eastern and European habitats Māori culture and traditions Nationality or ethnicity Nationality or ethnicity (2) Native American cultures or dialects Native Americans New Zealanders Nigerian cities Nordic islands and territories Nordic or Scandinavian culture North American Demonyms North and South America Northern Eurasian languages Obscure languages or scripts Of Asian origin Official country names Old Eastern Mediterranean sites Originating from Oxford University and colleges Pacific Islanders Patriotism or nationalism Philippine languages Philippine languages/dialects Philippine native languages Philippines Philippines geography Philosophies (3) Place-based names Place-based names (2) Places in Austria and Germany Places in East Africa Places in Estonia and Finland Poland (cities Polynesian culture Portuguese Portuguese or Spanish Atlantic territories Portuguese-speaking locations Pre-Socratic philosophers Proto-languages Proto-languages (2) Protolanguages Quebec and Canadian culture Regional Dialects or Accents Regional Identity Regional identity Regional languages or dialects Regional or ethnic identity Regional or local identities Regional or local identities (2) Regions and Places in Italy Regions and residents Regions/civilizations Roman families Roman or Roma culture Romance languages Romance languages or dialects Russia or Russian culture Russo-Central Asian locations Saharan region Scandinavian Geography Scottish culture and identity Semitic Studies Sign language Singaporean Identity/Culture Slavic and Hungarian nationalism Slavic governance and military Slavic studies or Slavistics Small towns in Croatia South American indigenous languages South Asian linguistics Southeast Asian ethnic groups Southeast Asian geography Southern Hemisphere geography Southern culture or identity Southwest U.S Native Americans Soviet Union and its history Spanish city natives Spanish language and culture Specific global islands/groups Specific island inhabitants Sweden and its regions Swiss-Luxembourg towns/cities Switzerland (places) Their vernaculars Tibeto-Burman languages Travel destinations Turkic ethnicities Turkish cities Turkish-Armenian cities/towns Turko-Central Asian cultures U.S UK regional demonyms UK university abbreviations US or American Ukrainian and Russian studies United Kingdom Uralic languages Vietnam War Vietnamese Geography Washington D.C West Coast Natives Xenophobia Xenophobia (2) Xenophobia (3) Xenophobia (4)


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.

The sunburst logo (🔆) is the emoji symbol for "high brightness", which we aspire to create with OneLook. (The graphic came from the open-source Twemoji project.)



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