I suppose that behind each thing we have to do, there's something we want to do...
Source: tatoeba (1491)
Behind
/bɪˈhaɪnd/
Synonyms for "behind" (136 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (28)
Strong matches (40)
Related words (68)
Noun(22 words)
Adverb(2 words)
in arrearsslow
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: buttocks, posterior, rear, abaft, aft.
- Sentence evidence is available for behind, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "behind".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "behind"
Keep "behind" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "behind" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "behind", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "behind" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
12 entriesMore specific
22 entriesaftback surfacebackingbehind closed doorsbehind schedulebehind the curtainbehind the doorbehind the scenesbelatedbelatedlybuttockcaudalconfidentialendorsementgluteal regiongluteus maximus
Showing 16 of 22 words.
Collocations
13 entriesbehind closed doorsbehind in paymentsbehind schedulebehind the curtainbehind the lensbehind the scenesbehind the timesbehind the wheelbuttockbuttocks regiongluteal regionposterior regionposterior surface
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
2 entriessimilar
1 entriesTranslations
176 translations across 90 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- agter prep (at the back of)
Albanian
2 entries- prapa prep (at the back of)
- prapa prep (to the back of)
Ancient Greek
1 entries- ὄπισθεν prep (at the back of)
Arabic
4 entries- خَلْفَ prep (at the back of)
- خَلْفَ prep (to the back of)
- مور prep (at the back of)
- مورا prep (at the back of)
Armenian
2 entries- ետեւ prep (at the back of)
- հետեւ prep (at the back of)
Aromanian
4 entries- dipu prep (at the back of)
- dipã prep (at the back of)
- dupu prep (at the back of)
- dupã prep (at the back of)
Assamese
1 entries- -ৰ পিছত prep (at the back of)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- arxasında prep (at the back of)
- geri prep (to the back of)
Basque
1 entries- atzean prep (at the back of)
Belarusian
2 entries- за prep (at the back of)
- за prep (to the back of)
Bhojpuri
1 entries- पीछे prep (at the back of)
Bulgarian
2 entries- зад prep (at the back of)
- наза́д prep (to the back of)
Burmese
1 entries- နောက် prep (at the back of)
Catalan
4 entries- darrere prep (at the back of)
- endarrere prep (to the back of)
- enrere prep (to the back of)
- rere prep (at the back of)
Central Kurdish
3 entries- پاش prep (to the back of)
- پشت prep (to the back of)
- پشتی prep (at the back of)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- ...後邊 /...后边 prep (at the back of)
- ...後邊 /...后边 prep (to the back of)
- ...後面 /...后面 prep (at the back of)
- ...後面 /...后面 prep (to the back of)
Czech
2 entries- za prep (at the back of)
- za prep (to the back of)
Dalmatian
1 entries- dri prep (at the back of)
Danish
3 entries- bag ved prep (at the back of)
- bag ved prep (to the back of)
- bagefter prep (to the back of)
Dutch
3 entries- achter prep (at the back of)
- achteraan prep (at the back of)
- achteraan prep (to the back of)
Esperanto
1 entries- malantaŭ prep (at the back of)
Estonian
2 entries- taga prep (at the back of)
- taha prep (to the back of)
Ewe
2 entries- megbe prep (at the back of)
- megbe prep (to the back of)
Finnish
2 entries- taakse prep (to the back of)
- takana prep (at the back of)
French
2 entries- derrière prep (at the back of)
- derrière prep (to the back of)
Galician
2 entries- detrás de prep (at the back of)
- tras prep (at the back of)
Georgian
2 entries- უკან prep (at the back of)
- უკან prep (to the back of)
German
2 entries- hinter prep (at the back of)
- hinter prep (to the back of)
Greek
1 entries- πίσω από prep (at the back of)
Haitian Creole
2 entries- dèyè prep (at the back of)
- dèyè prep (to the back of)
Hebrew
4 entries- מֵאָחוֹר prep (at the back of)
- מֵאָחוֹר prep (to the back of)
- מאחורי prep (at the back of)
- מאחורי prep (to the back of)
Hindi
2 entries- के पीछे prep (at the back of)
- के पीछे prep (to the back of)
Hungarian
3 entries- mögé prep (to the back of)
- mögött prep (at the back of)
- után prep (at the back of)
Ido
1 entries- dop prep (at the back of)
Interlingua
2 entries- detra prep (at the back of)
- detra prep (to the back of)
Irish
2 entries- ar chúl prep (at the back of)
- taobh thiar de prep (at the back of)
Istriot
1 entries- dreîo prep (at the back of)
Italian
2 entries- dietro prep (at the back of)
- dietro prep (to the back of)
Japanese
1 entries- ...の後ろに prep (at the back of)
Korean
1 entries- 뒤에 prep (at the back of)
Ladino
1 entries- detrás de prep (at the back of)
Latin
3 entries- post prep (at the back of)
- post prep (to the back of)
- pōne prep (at the back of)
Latvian
2 entries- aiz prep (at the back of)
- aiz prep (to the back of)
Limburgish
2 entries- achter prep (at the back of)
- hönjer prep (at the back of)
Lithuanian
1 entries- už prep (at the back of)
Lower Sorbian
2 entries- za prep (at the back of)
- za prep (to the back of)
Macedonian
1 entries- зад prep (at the back of)
Malay
2 entries- di belakang prep (at the back of)
- ke belakang prep (to the back of)
Maltese
1 entries- wara prep (at the back of)
Navajo
2 entries- bineʼdi prep (at the back of)
- bineʼgi prep (at the back of)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- li pey prep (at the back of)
Norwegian
2 entries- bak prep (at the back of)
- bak prep (to the back of)
Old Church Slavonic
1 entries- за prep (at the back of)
Old English
1 entries- æfter prep (at the back of)
Papiamentu
1 entries- patras prep (at the back of)
Pashto
3 entries- تر شا prep (at the back of)
- د ... د ورستو prep (at the back of)
- له ... نه ورستو prep (at the back of)
Persian
1 entries- پشت prep (at the back of)
Pijin
1 entries- bihaen prep (at the back of)
Polish
2 entries- z tyłu prep (to the back of)
- za prep (at the back of)
Portuguese
3 entries- atrás prep (at the back of)
- atrás prep (to the back of)
- detrás de prep (at the back of)
Punjabi
2 entries- پِچھّے prep (at the back of)
- ਪਿੱਛੇ prep (at the back of)
Romanian
1 entries- după prep (at the back of)
Romansch
1 entries- davos prep (at the back of)
Russian
4 entries- за prep (at the back of)
- за prep (to the back of)
- позади́ prep (at the back of)
- сза́ди prep (at the back of)
Samoan
1 entries- tua prep (at the back of)
Saterland Frisian
1 entries- bääte prep (at the back of)
Scottish Gaelic
2 entries- air cùl prep (at the back of)
- air cùlaibh prep (at the back of)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- za prep (at the back of)
- за prep (at the back of)
Slovak
2 entries- za prep (at the back of)
- za prep (to the back of)
Slovene
4 entries- nazáj prep (to the back of)
- za prep (at the back of)
- za prep (to the back of)
- zadáj prep (at the back of)
Spanish
3 entries- atrás prep (at the back of)
- detrás prep (to the back of)
- detrás de prep (at the back of)
Swahili
2 entries- nyuma prep (at the back of)
- nyuma prep (to the back of)
Swedish
2 entries- bakom prep (at the back of)
- bakom prep (to the back of)
Tagalog
2 entries- sa likod prep (at the back of)
- sa likod prep (to the back of)
Telugu
2 entries- వెనక prep (at the back of)
- వెనక్కి prep (to the back of)
Thai
1 entries- ข้างหลัง prep (at the back of)
Tonga (Zambia)
1 entries- kusule prep (at the back of)
Turkish
1 entries- arkasında prep (at the back of)
Ukrainian
2 entries- за prep (at the back of)
- поза prep (at the back of)
Urdu
2 entries- کے پیچھے prep (at the back of)
- کے پیچھے prep (to the back of)
Venetan
1 entries- drio prep (at the back of)
Vietnamese
1 entries- sau prep (at the back of)
Volapük
1 entries- po prep (at the back of)
Walloon
2 entries- dirî prep (at the back of)
- padrî prep (at the back of)
Welsh
4 entries- tu cefn prep (at the back of)
- tu cefn prep (to the back of)
- tu cefn i prep (at the back of)
- tu cefn i prep (to the back of)
West Flemish
1 entries- bachtn prep (at the back of)
West-Frisian
2 entries- efter prep (at the back of)
- efter prep (to the back of)
Yiddish
2 entries- הינטער prep (at the back of)
- הינטער prep (to the back of)
Zazaki
1 entries- peydı prep (to the back of)
Zulu
2 entries- emuva prep (at the back of)
- ngasemuva prep (to the back of)
Sample sentences
55 total sentences available.
I'll stand behind you if you are going to do it.
Source: tatoeba (17551)
The police officer on duty sensed an elderly man coming up behind him.
Source: tatoeba (18826)
I found that I had left my umbrella behind in the classroom.
Source: tatoeba (19035)
Showing 4 of 55 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "behind"?
Closest matches include buttocks, posterior, rear, abaft, aft.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "behind"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.