He carved designs in ivory.
Source: tatoeba (299661)
Ivory
/ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/
Synonyms for "ivory" (89 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: off-white, alabaster, alabastrine, albacore, albescent.
- Sentence evidence is available for ivory, 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 "ivory".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "ivory"
Keep "ivory" 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 "ivory" 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 "ivory", 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 "ivory" 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
9 entriesMore specific
6 entriesivory carvingivory chess pieceivory piano keyivory sculptureivory tintivory white
Collocations
10 entrieselephant ivoryivory carvingivory colorivory finishivory hueivory piano keyivory toneivory tradeivory tuskivory white
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
4 entriesTranslations
145 translations across 94 languages.
Afar
1 entries- qaag noun (material)
Afrikaans
2 entries- elpebeen noun (material)
- ivoor noun (material)
Akkadian
1 entries- 𒅗 noun (material)
Ancient Greek
1 entries- ἐλέφας noun (material)
Arabic
4 entries- عاج noun (material)
- عَاج noun (material)
- عَاجِيَّة noun (colour)
- عَاجِيّ noun (colour)
Armenian
1 entries- փղոսկր noun (material)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- fil dişi noun (material)
- fil sümüyü noun (material)
Basque
1 entries- boli noun (material)
Belarusian
1 entries- слано́вая косць noun (material)
Bikol Central
1 entries- gading noun (material)
Bulgarian
2 entries- сло́нова кост noun (material)
- сло́нова кост noun (colour)
Burmese
1 entries- ဆင်စွယ် noun (material)
Campidanese Sardinian
1 entries- marfilu noun (material)
Catalan
4 entries- ivori noun (material)
- ivori noun (colour)
- marfil noun (material)
- marfil noun (colour)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 象牙 noun (material)
Classical Nahuatl
2 entries- mazātl elefante īcōātlan noun (material)
- tlanomitl noun (material)
Crimean Tatar
1 entries- fil tişi noun (material)
Czech
1 entries- slonovina noun (material)
Danish
1 entries- elfenben noun (material)
Dutch
2 entries- ivoor noun (material)
- ivoorkleur noun (colour)
Egyptian
1 entries- Ab-b-w-qs noun (material)
Esperanto
1 entries- eburo noun (material)
Estonian
2 entries- elevandiluu noun (material)
- elevandiluuvärv noun (colour)
Faroese
1 entries- fílabein noun (material)
Finnish
2 entries- norsunluu noun (material)
- norsunluunvalkoinen noun (colour)
French
2 entries- ivoire noun (material)
- ivoire noun (colour)
Galician
2 entries- marfil noun (material)
- marfil noun (colour)
Georgian
1 entries- სპილოს ძვალი noun (material)
German
3 entries- Elfenbein noun (material)
- Elfenbein noun (colour)
- Elfenbeinfarbe noun (colour)
Greek
1 entries- φίλντισι noun (material)
Gujarati
1 entries- હાથીદાંત noun (material)
Hausa
1 entries- hauren giwa noun (material)
Hawaiian
1 entries- niho ʻelepani noun (material)
Hebrew
1 entries- שֶׁנְהָב noun (material)
Hindi
3 entries- गजदन्त noun (material)
- हाथी दांत noun (material)
- हाथीदांत noun (material)
Hungarian
2 entries- elefántcsont noun (material)
- elefántcsontszín noun (colour)
Icelandic
2 entries- fílabein noun (material)
- fílsbein noun (material)
Ido
3 entries- ivoreo noun (colour)
- ivorkoloro noun (colour)
- ivoro noun (material)
Indonesian
1 entries- gading noun (material)
Irish
2 entries- dath an eabhair noun (colour)
- eabhar noun (material)
Italian
1 entries- avorio noun (material)
Japanese
1 entries- 象牙 noun (material)
Kalmyk
1 entries- занын ясн noun (material)
Khmer
2 entries- ទន្ត noun (material)
- ភ្លុក noun (material)
Kikuyu
1 entries- mũguongo noun (material)
Korean
3 entries- 상아 noun (material)
- 상아색 noun (colour)
- 아이보리 noun (colour)
Latin
1 entries- ebur noun (material)
Latvian
1 entries- ziloņkauls noun (material)
Lithuanian
1 entries- dramblio kaulo noun (material)
Luxembourgish
1 entries- Elfebeen noun (material)
Macedonian
1 entries- слонова коска noun (material)
Malay
2 entries- gading noun (material)
- gading noun (colour)
Maltese
1 entries- avorju noun (material)
Middle English
3 entries- elpes bon noun (material)
- ivorie noun (material)
- yvory noun (material)
Mongolian
1 entries- зааны яс noun (material)
Māori
1 entries- rei noun (material)
Norman
1 entries- iviéthe noun (material)
Norwegian Bokmål
2 entries- elfenbein noun (material)
- elfenben noun (material)
Norwegian Nynorsk
2 entries- elfenbein noun (material)
- filsbein noun (material)
Old English
1 entries- elpendbān noun (material)
Old French
1 entries- olifan noun (material)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- فیل دیشی noun (material)
Pannonian Rusyn
2 entries- слонова косц noun (material)
- єлефантова косц noun (material)
Persian
2 entries- عاج noun (material)
- پیلسته noun (material)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- Aulfenbeen noun (material)
Pohnpeian
1 entries- aipori noun (material)
Polish
1 entries- kość słoniowa noun (material)
Portuguese
4 entries- ebóreo noun (colour)
- ebúrneo noun (colour)
- marfim noun (material)
- marfim noun (colour)
Romanian
3 entries- alb-ivoriu noun (colour)
- fildeș noun (material)
- ivoriu noun (material)
Romansch
1 entries- ivur noun (material)
Russian
3 entries- слоно́вая кость noun (material)
- слоно́вая кость noun (colour)
- цвет слоно́вой ко́сти noun (colour)
Samoan
1 entries- nifo elefane noun (material)
Sassarese
1 entries- aboriu noun (material)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- bjȅlokōst noun (material)
- slònovača noun (material)
- бје̏локо̄ст noun (material)
- сло̀новача noun (material)
Slovak
1 entries- slonovina noun (material)
Slovene
1 entries- slonovina noun (material)
Somali
1 entries- caag noun (material)
Spanish
2 entries- ebúrneo noun (colour)
- marfil noun (material)
Swahili
1 entries- pembe za ndovu noun (material)
Swedish
3 entries- elfenben noun (material)
- elfenbensfärg noun (colour)
- elfenbensvitt noun (colour)
Tagalog
1 entries- garing noun (material)
Tajik
1 entries- устухони фил noun (material)
Thai
2 entries- งาช้าง noun (material)
- สีงาช้าง noun (colour)
Tibetan
1 entries- བལ་སོ noun (material)
Turkish
1 entries- fildişi noun (material)
Ukrainian
1 entries- слоно́ва кі́стка noun (material)
Urdu
1 entries- ہاتھی دانت noun (material)
Uzbek
1 entries- fil suyagi noun (material)
Vietnamese
2 entries- ngà noun (material)
- ngà voi noun (material)
Volapük
1 entries- vior noun (material)
Walloon
1 entries- ivwere noun (material)
Waray-Waray
1 entries- gading noun (material)
Welsh
1 entries- dant eliffant noun (material)
Yiddish
1 entries- העלפֿאַנדביין noun (material)
Sample sentences
18 total sentences available.
At his side, he carried an ivory and silver sword.
Source: tatoeba (803312)
Traffic in ivory is illegal.
Source: tatoeba (1477375)
Ivory Coast is the world's biggest cocoa producer.
Source: tatoeba (1801643)
Showing 4 of 18 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "ivory"?
Closest matches include off-white, alabaster, alabastrine, albacore, albescent.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "ivory"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.