Within national marine sanctuaries's protected waters, giant humpback whales breed and calve their young, temperate reefs flourish, and shipwrecks tell stories of our maritime history.
Source: tatoeba (6675785)
Calve
/kɑːv/
Synonyms for "calve" (24 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: bear, break up, calf, calfs, cast.
- Sentence evidence is available for calve, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from opengloss, wordnet, derived_reverse.
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 "calve".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "calve"
Keep "calve" 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 "calve" 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 "calve", 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 "calve" 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
13 entriesMore specific
4 entriesbovine parturitioncalf birthglacier calvingiceberg formation
Collocations
5 entriescalving eventcalving intervalcalving seasonglacier calvingice calving
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
2 entriesTranslations
33 translations across 19 languages.
Bulgarian
1 entries- отелвам се verb (to give birth to a calf)
Catalan
1 entries- vedellar verb (to give birth to a calf)
Czech
2 entries- otelit se verb (to give birth to a calf)
- telit se verb (to give birth to a calf)
Danish
1 entries- kælve verb (to give birth to a calf)
Dutch
2 entries- kalven verb (to give birth to a calf)
- ter wereld brengen verb (to give birth to (a calf))
Esperanto
1 entries- naski bovidon verb (to give birth to a calf)
Faroese
1 entries- kálva verb (to give birth to a calf)
Finnish
2 entries- poikia verb (to give birth to a calf)
- vasikoida verb (to give birth to a calf)
French
3 entries- mettre bas verb (to give birth to a calf)
- mettre bas verb (to give birth to (a calf))
- vêler verb (to give birth to a calf)
German
2 entries- kalben verb (to give birth to a calf)
- werfen verb (to give birth to (a calf))
Ingrian
4 entries- poikia verb (to give birth to a calf)
- poikihua verb (to give birth to a calf)
- poikihussa verb (to give birth to a calf)
- poikiissa verb (to give birth to a calf)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- kalve verb (to give birth to a calf)
Norwegian Nynorsk
2 entries- kalva verb (to give birth to a calf)
- kalve verb (to give birth to a calf)
Ottoman Turkish
2 entries- بوغالامق verb (to give birth to a calf)
- كوشكلمك verb (to give birth to a calf)
Polish
2 entries- cielić się verb (to give birth to a calf)
- ocielić się verb (to give birth to a calf)
Russian
1 entries- тели́ться verb (to give birth to a calf)
Swedish
1 entries- kalva verb (to give birth to a calf)
Tamil
1 entries- கன்றுபோடு verb (to give birth to a calf)
Upper Sorbian
3 entries- woćelić so verb (to give birth to a calf)
- ćelećić verb (to give birth to a calf)
- ćelić verb (to give birth to a calf)
Sample sentences
7 total sentences available.
As their numbers have grown, much about the humpback, a species famous for its song, remains a mystery. Scientists do not know exactly, for example, where on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef they mate and calve.
Source: tatoeba (12231786)
The farmer could tell Bessie was about to calve.
Source: wiktionary
The farmer calved Bessie for almost two hours.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 7 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "calve"?
Closest matches include bear, break up, calf, calfs, cast.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "calve"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.