Caries

/ˈkɛə.ɹiːz/

Synonyms for "caries" (34 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (7)

Noun(4 words)
tooth decaycarious lesioncavitiescavity

Strong matches (10)

Noun(3 words)
dental cariesdental decayenamel decay
dry gangrenedry rotfoulnessgangrenegas gangrenemoist gangrenemortification

Related words (17)

Choosing the right synonym

  • Closest matches in this entry: tooth decay, carious lesion, carrion, cavities, cavity.
  • Sentence evidence is available for caries, 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 "caries".
  • Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "caries"

Keep "caries" 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 "caries" 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 "caries", 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 "caries" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

4 relation types

More general

3 entries
decaydiseaseoral disease

More specific

3 entries
coronal cariespit and fissure cariesroot caries

Collocations

6 entries
caries preventioncaries riskcoronal cariesdental cariespit and fissure cariesroot caries

Derivations

2 entries

Translations

42 translations across 28 languages.

Powered by Wiktionary

Arabic

1 entries
  • تَسَوُّس noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Armenian

2 entries
  • կարիես noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • ոսկրափտություն noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Bulgarian

1 entries
  • ка́риес noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Chinese Mandarin

3 entries
  • 蛀牙 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • 蟲牙 /虫牙 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • 齲齒 /龋齿 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Czech

2 entries
  • kaz noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • zubní kaz noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Danish

2 entries
  • caries noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • karies noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Dutch

3 entries
  • cariës noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • gaatjes noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • tandbederf noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Estonian

1 entries
  • kaaries noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Finnish

2 entries
  • hammasmätä noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • karies noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

French

1 entries
  • carie noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Galician

1 entries
  • carie noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

German

1 entries
  • Karies noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Greek

1 entries
  • τερηδόνα noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Hebrew

1 entries
  • עַשֶּׁשֶׁת noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Hungarian

1 entries
  • fogszuvasodás noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Japanese

4 entries
  • う蝕 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • カリエス noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • 虫歯 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • 齲蝕 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Korean

2 entries
  • 충치 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • 카리에스 noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Norwegian Bokmål

1 entries
  • karies noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Norwegian Nynorsk

1 entries
  • karies noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Polish

1 entries
  • próchnica noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Portuguese

1 entries
  • cárie noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Russian

2 entries
  • ка́риес noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • ка́риес зубо́в noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Spanish

1 entries
  • caries noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Swahili

1 entries
  • karisi noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Swedish

1 entries
  • karies noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Tagalog

1 entries
  • karyes noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Thai

1 entries
  • ฟันผุ noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Ukrainian

2 entries
  • ка́рієс noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)
  • каріо́з noun (progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay)

Sample sentences

4 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

Love: A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by the removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient.

Source: tatoeba (5867006)

Inwardly the Second Men differed from the earlier species in that they had shed most of those primitive relics which had hampered the First Men more than was realized. Not only were they free of appendix, tonsils and other useless excrescences, but also their whole structure was more firmly knit into unity. Their chemical organization was such that their tissues were kept in better repair. Their teeth, though proportionately small and few, were almost completely immune from caries. Such was their glandular equipment that puberty did not begin till twenty; and not till they were fifty did they reach maturity. At about one hundred and ninety their powers began to fail, and after a few years of contemplative retirement they almost invariably died before true senility could begin.

Source: tatoeba (8855497)

Brushing the teeth helps protect against dental caries.

Source: tatoeba (10553612)

Near-synonym: cavity

Source: wiktionary

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "caries"?

Closest matches include tooth decay, carious lesion, carrion, cavities, cavity.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "caries"?

Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.

More for "caries"