Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire.
Source: tatoeba (7838356)
Enfilade
/ˌɛnfəlˈeɪd/
Synonyms for "enfilade" (35 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (7)
Strong matches (11)
Related words (17)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: flanking fire, aim at, aligned arrangement, barrage, blast.
- Sentence evidence is available for enfilade, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet, 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 "enfilade".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "enfilade"
Keep "enfilade" 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 "enfilade" 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 "enfilade", 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 "enfilade" 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
11 entriesMore specific
7 entriesartillery enfiladeenfilading firegallery enfiladerifle enfiladesalon enfiladesee-through gallerystraight-through corridor
Collocations
10 entriesarchitectural enfiladeartillery enfiladeenfilade architectureenfilade corridorenfilade fireenfilade layoutenfilade of roomsenfilading firelinear enfilademilitary enfilade tactic
Inflections
3 entriesSample sentences
11 total sentences available.
In his Booker Prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst wrote about people who know their world history as being able to look back through the millennia as an enfilade of rooms: Greece yields to Rome; Rome to the Byzantine Empire ... the Renaissance ... the British Empire ... America ... China. The same goes for people who can recite their kings and queens. British history clicks into a long enfilade of discrete, identifiable periods.
Source: wiktionary
Uncle Charles, a truly unparalleled slinger of shit, is laying down an enfilade of same, trying to mollify men who seem way more in need of a good brow-mopping than I.
Source: wiktionary
In minutes they had gained the top, fell prone, and began to pour deadly repeater-fire into the enemy below while their compatriots raked the top of the coulee with an enfilade.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 11 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "enfilade"?
Closest matches include flanking fire, aim at, aligned arrangement, barrage, blast.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "enfilade"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.