The goal of education is not wealth or status, but personal development.
Source: tatoeba (19124)
Development
/dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/
Synonyms for "development" (445 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (89)
Noun(22 words)
growthmaturationadvancementsadvancesadvancingamplificationsarisingbeatlemaniabecomingbody changebuddingsbuildingcapacity buildingcapacity-buildingcell capacitationcell growthchange over timechangementchemical formulationchild development
Show 2 more words
civilization processcommunity progress
abiogenesisaccessaccessionaccomplishmentaccretionaccrualaccruementaccumulationactionadditionadvanceadvancementaggrandizementagingamplificationanacrusisanagnorisisangleappreciationapprenticeship
Show 43 more words
archigenesisarchitectonicsarchitectureargumentascentatmosphereaugmentationbackgroundballooningbasic trainingbass passagebeautificationbiogenesisbirthblastogenesisbloatingblossomingboomboostbourdonbreakingbreedingbridgebroadeningbuddingbuildupburdenburgeoningby productby-productcadencecatastrophecharacterizationchoruscircumstancecodacolorcomplicationconditionconditioningconsequenceconsequentcontinuity
Adjective(4 words)
behavioral progressbiological changebiological transformationcivilizational rise
Strong matches (134)
contrivancecorollarycrescendocultivationdenouementderivationderivativedesigndevelopmental changedevicedigenesisdilationdisciplinediscoverydistillatedivisiondrilldrillingedemaeffect
Show 63 more words
elaborationelevationembellishmentemergenceenlargementepigenesisepisodeestateeumerogenesiseventeventualityeventuationevolutionevolutionary changeevolvementevolvingexcrescenceexerciseexpansionexpatiationexplicationexpositionextensionfablefalderalfalling actionfetching-upfigurefloodfloweringfolderolformationfosteringfruitfurtherancegaingemmationgenerationgenesisgerminationgimmickgradual changegreateninggroominggrowthgushhappeningharmonic closeharvestheterogenesishikehistogenesishomogenesishousebreakingimprovementin-service trainingincidentincreaseincrementinflationinterludeintermezzointroductory phrase
Noun(37 words)
conversioncourse of eventscrescentiacultivatingdesign a chartdesign transformationdevelopingdutch groeienecosystem processeducate verbenhancementsenrichingeventevolutionevolve most graduallyexploitationfleshingformaciónformationformation processes
Show 17 more words
formationsfostering school belongingfundraising managementfurther alongfurtheringgestatinggestationgradually changinggrowinggrowth over timegrowthshuman developmentimprovementincubationindustrializinginnovationsinvent a game
Verb(7 words)
cultivate a gardenemerge over timeexpand facilitiesformingformulatingimprove behavioral qualityincrease work capacity
Adjective(7 words)
current developmentemergentevolutionary processflowering plant growthfresh growthgerman prozesshistorical trends
Related words (222)
Noun(65 words)
inventinginventioniot shiftjourneyjourneyinglagoon creationlanguage education trendlearning processmakingmarchingmaturementmaturitiesmetamorphosesmintingmodernizationmoldingmore online media-evolutionarymost human developmentneighborhood policynourishment growth
Show 45 more words
nurture school cultureoccurrenceontogenesisontogenyoutgrowingpermanent anatomical changephysical transformationplanplant growthplot turnsprocessprocess related termprocess verbprocessesprogressprogress in scienceprogress stateprogress towardprogressionprosperingrecent social phenomenonripenessrise of civilizationrise of modern civilizationsafarsapling growthseedling growthsikhismsize changessize gainsophisticationspanish transformaciónswedish förbättratends towardthrivingtrajectoriestrajectorytransformationtransformation processtransformationstrundlingunfurlingunrollingupliftingsvolution
inventionisogenesisissuejumpleaplegacylinelocal colorlogical outcomemanual trainingmaturationmaturescencematuringmaturitymeasuremellowingmerogenesismetagenesismilitary trainingmonogenesis
Show 121 more words
moodmotifmountingmovementmultiplicationmusical phrasemusical sentencemythosnatural developmentnatural growthnonviolent changenurturenurturingoccurrenceoffshootoffspringon-the-job trainingongoingornamentorthogenesisoutcomeoutgrowthovergrowthpangenesispartparthenogenesispassageperfectionperiodperipeteiaphasephenomenonphraseplanplotpracticeprecipitatepreparationprocessprocreationproductproductionproductivenessprogressprogressionproliferationpromotionpullulationraiseraisingreadyingrearingrecognitionrefinementrefrainrehearsalreproductionresolutionresponseresultresultantripeningriserising actionritornelloschemeseasoningsecondary plotsectionsenescencesequelsequelasequencesequentsituationslantsloydsnowballingspontaneous generationspreadsproutingstanzastatementstorystrainstructuresubjectsubplotsurgeswellingswitchtailpiecetemperingthematic developmentthemetonetopictrainingtransitiontumescencetuttitutti passagetwistunfoldingupupbringingupgrowthuppingupshotupsurgeupswinguptrendupturnvariationvegetationversevocational educationvocational trainingwaxingwideningworking-out
Adverb(2 words)
more civil progressesprogressively over time
Determiner(2 words)
more human developmentmore online media evolution
Adjective(11 words)
multicellular developmentmulticellular organism developmentmulticellular organism developmentsmusical skillnatural capacitationongoing changeorganismal biology conceptpolitical institutionssocial progresstechnological risetemporal change
Verb(1 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: growth, maturation, abiogenesis, access, accession.
- Sentence evidence is available for development, 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 "development".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "development"
Keep "development" 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 "development" 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 "development", 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 "development" 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
24 entriesalterationbiological processchangedistrictdominionemploymenteventexerciseimprovementmeliorationmodificationorganic processphysical processprocessprocessingsection
Showing 16 of 24 words.
More specific
9 entriescognitive developmentcurriculum developmentemotional developmenthousing developmentnew incidentphysical growthplot twistpolicy changesoftware development
Collocations
6 entriescognitive developmentdevelopment milestonesdevelopment planeconomic developmenthousing developmentphysical development
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
5 entriesAntonyms
1 entriesTranslations
9 translations across 6 languages.
Danish
2 entries- udbygning noun (real estate development)
- udvidelse noun (real estate development)
Finnish
1 entries- rakentaminen noun (real estate development)
Hebrew
1 entries- פיתוח noun (real estate development)
Indonesian
1 entries- pembangunan noun (real estate development)
Spanish
3 entries- edificación noun (real estate development)
- fraccionamiento noun (real estate development)
- urbanización noun (real estate development)
Swedish
1 entries- utbyggnad noun (real estate development)
Sample sentences
18 total sentences available.
The shortage of engineers is the greatest bottleneck to the development of our company.
Source: tatoeba (20052)
All of us devoted ourselves to the development of our country.
Source: tatoeba (23074)
The development of word-processors has enabled us to type Japanese easily.
Source: tatoeba (29242)
Showing 4 of 18 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "development"?
Closest matches include growth, maturation, abiogenesis, access, accession.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "development"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.