An ugly duckling became a graceful swan.
Source: tatoeba (266458)
Duckling
/ˈdʌklɪŋ/
Synonyms for "duckling" (125 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: angel, babe, baby, baby-doll, bantam.
- Sentence evidence is available for duckling, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss.
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 "duckling".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "duckling"
Keep "duckling" 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 "duckling" 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 "duckling", 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 "duckling" 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
3 entriesMore specific
3 entriesdomestic ducklingmallard ducklingwood duckling
Collocations
6 entriesdomestic ducklingduckling developmentduckling growthduckling mortalitymallard ducklingwood duckling
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
1 entriesTranslations
94 translations across 56 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- rikë noun (young duck)
Basque
1 entries- ahatekume noun (young duck)
Belarusian
2 entries- качаня́ noun (young duck)
- качанё noun (young duck)
Bulgarian
3 entries- па́те noun (young duck)
- па́тенце noun (young duck)
- пате́нце noun (young duck)
Carpathian Rusyn
3 entries- качатко noun (young duck)
- каче noun (young duck)
- качочка noun (young duck)
Catalan
2 entries- anedó noun (young duck)
- aneguet noun (young duck)
Chinese
2 entries- 鴨仔囝 /鸭仔囝 noun (young duck)
- 鴨咪仔 /鸭咪仔 noun (young duck)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 小鴨子 /小鸭子 noun (young duck)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 小鴨子 /小鸭子 noun (young duck)
Classical Nahuatl
2 entries- canauhconētl noun (young duck)
- canauhconētōntli noun (young duck)
Cornish
1 entries- heyjik noun (young duck)
Czech
2 entries- káče noun (young duck)
- káčátko noun (young duck)
Danish
1 entries- ælling noun (young duck)
Dutch
4 entries- eendenjong noun (young duck)
- eendenkuiken noun (young duck)
- eendje noun (young duck)
- piel noun (young duck)
Esperanto
1 entries- anasido noun (young duck)
Faroese
1 entries- dunnuungi noun (young duck)
Finnish
2 entries- ankanpoikanen noun (young duck)
- sorsanpoikanen noun (young duck)
French
2 entries- canardeau noun (young duck)
- caneton noun (young duck)
Galician
2 entries- parruliño noun (young duck)
- parrulo noun (young duck)
German
4 entries- Entchen noun (young duck)
- Entenjunges noun (young duck)
- Entenküken noun (young duck)
- Entlein noun (young duck)
Greek
2 entries- παπάκι noun (young duck)
- παπί noun (young duck)
Hebrew
1 entries- ברווזון \ בַּרְוָזוֹן noun (young duck)
Hungarian
1 entries- kiskacsa noun (young duck)
Icelandic
1 entries- andarungi noun (young duck)
Ido
1 entries- anadyuno noun (young duck)
Indonesian
1 entries- itik noun (young duck)
Irish
2 entries- lachín noun (young duck)
- éan lachan noun (young duck)
Italian
2 entries- anatrella noun (young duck)
- anatroccolo noun (young duck)
Korean
1 entries- 오리 새끼 noun (young duck)
Latin
1 entries- anaticula noun (young duck)
Latvian
1 entries- pīlēns noun (young duck)
Lithuanian
1 entries- ančiukas noun (young duck)
Macedonian
3 entries- бибе noun (young duck)
- патче noun (young duck)
- пајче noun (young duck)
Malay
1 entries- anak itik noun (young duck)
Montagnais
1 entries- shishipiss noun (young duck)
Māori
1 entries- pī rakiraki noun (young duck)
Norman
1 entries- cannot noun (young duck)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- andunge noun (young duck)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- andunge noun (young duck)
Occitan
3 entries- anedon noun (young duck)
- guiton noun (young duck)
- riton noun (young duck)
Pannonian Rusyn
2 entries- качатко noun (young duck)
- каче noun (young duck)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- Piela noun (young duck)
Polish
2 entries- kaczątko noun (young duck)
- kaczę noun (young duck)
Portuguese
1 entries- patinho noun (young duck)
Romanian
4 entries- boboc noun (young duck)
- rățișoară noun (young duck)
- rățucă noun (young duck)
- rățușcă noun (young duck)
Russian
1 entries- утёнок noun (young duck)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- pȁče noun (young duck)
- па̏че noun (young duck)
Slovak
2 entries- kačiatko noun (young duck)
- káča noun (young duck)
Slovene
1 entries- račka noun (young duck)
Spanish
1 entries- patito noun (young duck)
Sundanese
1 entries- titit noun (young duck)
Swedish
3 entries- andunge noun (young duck)
- ankunge noun (young duck)
- älling noun (young duck)
Turkish
1 entries- badi noun (young duck)
Ukrainian
3 entries- кача́ noun (young duck)
- каченя́ noun (young duck)
- каченя́тко noun (young duck)
Vietnamese
1 entries- vịt con noun (young duck)
Volapük
1 entries- dökül noun (young duck)
Sample sentences
13 total sentences available.
The duckling would be very happy by now, if only the goose would put up with him.
Source: tatoeba (2860265)
But the poor duckling, who had crept out of his shell last of all, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and made fun of, not only by the ducks, but by all the poultry.
Source: tatoeba (3757180)
The poor duckling did not know where to go, and was quite miserable because he was so ugly and laughed at by the whole farmyard.
Source: tatoeba (3757181)
Showing 4 of 13 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "duckling"?
Closest matches include angel, babe, baby, baby-doll, bantam.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "duckling"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.