Your marks were well below average this term.
Source: tatoeba (17019)
Below
/bɪˈlaː/
Synonyms for "below" (87 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (18)
Adverb(7 words)
Adverb(1 words)
Strong matches (26)
beneath the skycompartmentdowndown belowdown southdowngradedownhilldownlinedownrightdownstairsdownstreamdownstreetdowntowndownwarddownwardsdownwithfollowinghellishlyherehere below
Verb(3 words)
collapse under pressurecollapses under pressuregive in under pressure
Adverb(3 words)
Related words (43)
Verb(1 words)
hiding under furniture
in hellin hellfirein the gutterin the worldinfernallyinfraleastleast of alllessneathnexton earthshort ofsincesubordinatesubordinate tosubsequent tounbefittingunderunder heaven
Show 5 more words
Adverb(9 words)
Noun(3 words)
Adverb(2 words)
Preposition(1 words)
Preposition(2 words)
under a microscopeunder supervision
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: beneath, under, adown, after, as follows.
- Sentence evidence is available for below, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, 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 "below".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "below"
Keep "below" 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 "below" 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 "below", 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 "below" 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
9 entriesdegree adverbdegree worddocument referencelocation termprepositionspatial adverbspatial relationtextual cuetextual reference
More specific
15 entriesbelow averagebelow expectationsbelow parbelow sectionsbelow standardbelow zerodirectly belowfar belowlisted itemslisted sectionslower levellower portionlower shelfsee belowslightly below
Collocations
9 entriesbelow averagebelow deckbelow grade levelbelow market valuebelow parbelow sea levelbelow the standardbelow the surfacebelow zero
Antonyms
1 entriesTranslations
73 translations across 44 languages.
Aklanon
1 entries- ubos adv (in a lower place)
Arabic
2 entries- أقل prep (lower in value than)
- أَقَل prep (lower in value than)
Armenian
2 entries- ցած adv (in a lower place)
- ցածր prep (lower in value than)
Bulgarian
2 entries- отдолу adv (in a lower place)
- под prep (lower in value than)
Catalan
1 entries- sota adv (in a lower place)
Cebuano
1 entries- ubos adv (in a lower place)
Chichewa
1 entries- pansi adv (in a lower place)
Czech
1 entries- pod prep (lower in value than)
Dutch
2 entries- beneden adv (in a lower place)
- onder prep (lower in value than)
Esperanto
3 entries- malsupre adv (in a lower place)
- malpli ol prep (lower in value than)
- sub prep (lower in value than)
Estonian
2 entries- allpool adv (in a lower place)
- alla prep (lower in value than)
Finnish
4 entries- alapuolella adv (in a lower place)
- alempana adv (in a lower place)
- ala prep (lower in value than)
- alapuolella prep (lower in value than)
French
1 entries- en bas adv (in a lower place)
German
3 entries- darunter adv (in a lower place)
- unten adv (in a lower place)
- unterhalb adv (in a lower place)
Greek
3 entries- κάτω adv (in a lower place)
- κάτω prep (lower in value than)
- υπό prep (lower in value than)
Haitian Creole
1 entries- anba adv (in a lower place)
Hebrew
1 entries- מתחת prep (lower in value than)
Hindi
1 entries- नीचे adv (in a lower place)
Hungarian
2 entries- lent adv (in a lower place)
- alatt prep (lower in value than)
Irish
3 entries- laistíos adv (in a lower place)
- thíos adv (in a lower place)
- níos lú prep (lower in value than)
Italian
1 entries- sotto adv (in a lower place)
Javanese
1 entries- ngisor adv (in a lower place)
Latin
1 entries- infrā adv (in a lower place)
Lombard
1 entries- sott adv (in a lower place)
Lower Sorbian
1 entries- dołojce adv (in a lower place)
Macedonian
1 entries- под prep (lower in value than)
Mansaka
1 entries- baba adv (in a lower place)
Marathi
1 entries- खाली adv (in a lower place)
Mauritian Creole
1 entries- anba adv (in a lower place)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- آشاغی adv (in a lower place)
Portuguese
4 entries- em baixo adv (in a lower place)
- embaixo adv (in a lower place)
- abaixo de prep (lower in value than)
- menos de prep (lower in value than)
Punjabi
2 entries- ਥੱਲੇ adv (in a lower place)
- ਹੇਠ adv (in a lower place)
Russian
3 entries- внизу́ adv (in a lower place)
- ни́же adv (in a lower place)
- ни́же prep (lower in value than)
Scots
1 entries- aneath prep (lower in value than)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- fo prep (lower in value than)
Slovak
2 entries- nižšie adv (in a lower place)
- pod prep (lower in value than)
Spanish
1 entries- abajo adv (in a lower place)
Swahili
1 entries- chini adv (in a lower place)
Swedish
3 entries- nedan adv (in a lower place)
- under adv (in a lower place)
- under prep (lower in value than)
Tumbuka
1 entries- pasi adv (in a lower place)
Ukrainian
1 entries- нижче prep (lower in value than)
Urdu
1 entries- نیچے adv (in a lower place)
Welsh
1 entries- isod adv (in a lower place)
Yiddish
1 entries- אונטן adv (in a lower place)
Sample sentences
32 total sentences available.
Your work is below average.
Source: tatoeba (17122)
There is a hut below the bridge.
Source: tatoeba (18992)
The temperature has been below freezing for several days.
Source: tatoeba (20348)
Showing 4 of 32 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "below"?
Closest matches include beneath, under, adown, after, as follows.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "below"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.