Co-opt

/ˈkoʊˌɑpt/

Synonyms for "co-opt" (7 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (2)

Verb(1 words)
conquer a people

Strong matches (2)

Verb(1 words)

Related words (3)

Noun(2 words)
Verb(1 words)

Choosing the right synonym

  • Closest matches in this entry: choose, conquer a people, elect, glom, highjacks.
  • Sentence evidence is available for co-opt, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
  • Ranking signals come from 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 "co-opt".
  • Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "co-opt"

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

Related word relations

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

1 relation types

Sample sentences

3 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

Artists' engagement with bleeding-edge tech will always have the potential to critique its destructive civil and military applications, as well as the potential to be co-opted by them—as propaganda or R&D—as the rise of the so-called knowledge economy has amply demonstrated.

Source: wiktionary

In the resolution between the culture and the counterculture, it is impossible to tell who co-opted whom, because in reality the bohemians and the bourgeois co-opted each other. They emerge from this process as bourgeois bohemians, or Bobos.

Source: wiktionary

Its opening track, Mastermind, offers one possible answer to a theoretical question about what prog rock might have sounded like in the highly unlikely event that it had co-opted Giorgio Moroder’s brand of electronic disco: nearly seven meandering, episodic minutes of unlikely chord changes […]

Source: wiktionary

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "co-opt"?

Closest matches include choose, conquer a people, elect, glom, highjacks.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "co-opt"?

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 "co-opt"