Jimmy tried to cajole his parents into letting him drive across the country with his friends.
Source: tatoeba (1993)
Drive
/dɹaɪv/
Synonyms for "drive" (1040 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (10)
Verb(2 words)
accelerate industrial growthaccelerates
Strong matches (15)
advanceadvance againstadvance uponadventuresomenessadventurousnessaffectaggravated assaultaggressionaggressivenessagitateairingalleyalleyway
Noun(1 words)
Verb(1 words)
Related words (25)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: ride, academic importance, accelerate, accelerate industrial growth, accelerates.
- Sentence evidence is available for drive, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, 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 "drive".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "drive"
Keep "drive" 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 "drive" 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 "drive", 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 "drive" 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
79 entriesShowing 16 of 79 words.
More specific
15 entriesCollocations
12 entriesdrive a cardrive at high speeddrive carefullydrive safelydrive to schooldrive with confidenceexternal drivefamily drivehard driveinternal drivelong driveshort drive
Inflections
4 entriesDerivations
4 entriessimilar
12 entriesTranslations
10 translations across 5 languages.
Dutch
1 entries- drijven noun (act of driving animals forward)
Finnish
4 entries- ajaminen noun (act of driving animals forward)
- ajo noun (act of driving animals forward)
- paimennus noun (act of driving animals forward)
- paimentaminen noun (act of driving animals forward)
Hungarian
3 entries- hajtás noun (act of driving animals forward)
- hajtóvadászat noun (act of driving animals forward)
- terelés noun (act of driving animals forward)
Māori
1 entries- whiunga noun (act of driving animals forward)
Turkish
1 entries- sürme noun (act of driving animals forward)
Sample sentences
81 total sentences available.
What... you still don't know how to drive?
Source: tatoeba (2156)
You had better not drive a car.
Source: tatoeba (16019)
Can you drive a car?
Source: tatoeba (16020)
Showing 4 of 81 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "drive"?
Closest matches include ride, academic importance, accelerate, accelerate industrial growth, accelerates.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "drive"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.