When I grow up, I want to be a king.
Source: tatoeba (1337)
King
/kɪŋ/
Synonyms for "king" (167 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (34)
Strong matches (50)
Related words (83)
Noun(25 words)
malikmastermogulmonarchmost sovereignnegusold norse konungrpendragonpharaohpotentatepowerrajarajahroyroyal piecerulershahshahssiresovereign
Show 5 more words
manman of commercemanagermaster spiritmerchant princemirzamogulmonarchmuslim rulersnotableoverlordpackpairparamountpawnpetty kingpicture cardspieceplaying cardspotentate
Show 37 more words
Adjective(1 words)
swedish konung
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: rex, ace, anointed king, atheling, banker.
- Sentence evidence is available for king, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, wordnet, 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 "king".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "king"
Keep "king" 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 "king" 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 "king", 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 "king" 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
25 entriesadult malebourgeoisbusinesspersoncheckerchequerchess piecechessmancourt cardcrowned headdistinctioneminenceface cardfemale aristocratgame piecehead of stateinfluential person
Showing 16 of 25 words.
More specific
4 entriesking consortking of popking of the jungleking regnant
Collocations
5 entriesInflections
1 entriesDerivations
3 entriesAntonyms
1 entriesTranslations
104 translations across 87 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- koning noun (a playing piece in chess)
Albanian
1 entries- mbret noun (a playing piece in chess)
Arabic
1 entries- مَلِك noun (a playing piece in chess)
Armenian
1 entries- արքա noun (a playing piece in chess)
Asturian
2 entries- re noun (a playing piece in chess)
- rei noun (a playing piece in chess)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- şah noun (a playing piece in chess)
Basque
1 entries- errege noun (a playing piece in chess)
Belarusian
1 entries- каро́ль noun (a playing piece in chess)
Bengali
2 entries- রাজা noun (a playing piece in chess)
- শাহ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Breton
1 entries- roue noun (a playing piece in chess)
Bulgarian
1 entries- цар noun (a playing piece in chess)
Burmese
2 entries- ကင်း noun (a playing piece in chess)
- မင်းကြီး noun (a playing piece in chess)
Catalan
1 entries- rei noun (a playing piece in chess)
Chinese Cantonese
2 entries- 國王 /国王 noun (a playing piece in chess)
- 王 noun (a playing piece in chess)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 國王 /国王 noun (a playing piece in chess)
- 王 noun (a playing piece in chess)
Czech
1 entries- král noun (a playing piece in chess)
Danish
1 entries- konge noun (a playing piece in chess)
Dutch
1 entries- koning noun (a playing piece in chess)
Esperanto
1 entries- reĝo noun (a playing piece in chess)
Estonian
1 entries- kuningas noun (a playing piece in chess)
Faroese
1 entries- kongur noun (a playing piece in chess)
Finnish
1 entries- kuningas noun (a playing piece in chess)
French
1 entries- roi noun (a playing piece in chess)
Galician
1 entries- rei noun (a playing piece in chess)
Georgian
1 entries- მეფე noun (a playing piece in chess)
German
1 entries- König noun (a playing piece in chess)
Greek
1 entries- βασιλιάς noun (a playing piece in chess)
Hebrew
1 entries- מֶלֶךְ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Hindi
2 entries- बादशाह noun (a playing piece in chess)
- राजा noun (a playing piece in chess)
Hungarian
1 entries- király noun (a playing piece in chess)
Icelandic
1 entries- kóngur noun (a playing piece in chess)
Indonesian
1 entries- raja noun (a playing piece in chess)
Iranian Persian
1 entries- شاه noun (a playing piece in chess)
Irish
1 entries- rí noun (a playing piece in chess)
Italian
1 entries- re noun (a playing piece in chess)
Japanese
1 entries- キング noun (a playing piece in chess)
Javanese
1 entries- ratu noun (a playing piece in chess)
Kabuverdianu
1 entries- rei noun (a playing piece in chess)
Kazakh
2 entries- король noun (a playing piece in chess)
- патша noun (a playing piece in chess)
Khmer
1 entries- ខុន noun (a playing piece in chess)
Korean
1 entries- 킹 noun (a playing piece in chess)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- король noun (a playing piece in chess)
Lao
3 entries- ຂຸນ noun (a playing piece in chess)
- ຄິງ noun (a playing piece in chess)
- ຄີງ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Latin
1 entries- rex noun (a playing piece in chess)
Latvian
1 entries- karalis noun (a playing piece in chess)
Lithuanian
1 entries- karalius noun (a playing piece in chess)
Low German
2 entries- Keunig noun (a playing piece in chess)
- König noun (a playing piece in chess)
Macedonian
1 entries- крал noun (a playing piece in chess)
Malay
2 entries- raja noun (a playing piece in chess)
- syah noun (a playing piece in chess)
Malayalam
1 entries- രാജാവ് noun (a playing piece in chess)
Maltese
1 entries- sultan noun (a playing piece in chess)
Manx
1 entries- ree noun (a playing piece in chess)
Marathi
1 entries- राजा noun (a playing piece in chess)
Middle Persian
1 entries- 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 noun (a playing piece in chess)
Mongolian
1 entries- ноён noun (a playing piece in chess)
Navajo
1 entries- hastiin naatʼááh noun (a playing piece in chess)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- şah noun (a playing piece in chess)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- konge noun (a playing piece in chess)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- konge noun (a playing piece in chess)
Occitan
1 entries- rei noun (a playing piece in chess)
Ojibwe
1 entries- ogimaa noun (a playing piece in chess)
Polish
1 entries- król noun (a playing piece in chess)
Portuguese
1 entries- rei noun (a playing piece in chess)
Romanian
1 entries- rege noun (a playing piece in chess)
Russian
1 entries- коро́ль noun (a playing piece in chess)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- rìgh noun (a playing piece in chess)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- krȃlj noun (a playing piece in chess)
- кра̑љ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Sinhalese
1 entries- රජු noun (a playing piece in chess)
Slovak
1 entries- kráľ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Slovene
1 entries- kralj noun (a playing piece in chess)
Spanish
1 entries- rey noun (a playing piece in chess)
Swahili
4 entries- kete kuu noun (a playing piece in chess)
- mfalme noun (a playing piece in chess)
- shaha noun (a playing piece in chess)
- shehe noun (a playing piece in chess)
Swedish
1 entries- kung noun (a playing piece in chess)
Tajik
1 entries- шоҳ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Tatar
1 entries- шаһ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Telugu
1 entries- రాజు noun (a playing piece in chess)
Thai
2 entries- ขุน noun (a playing piece in chess)
- คิง noun (a playing piece in chess)
Turkish
1 entries- şah noun (a playing piece in chess)
Turkmen
1 entries- şa noun (a playing piece in chess)
Ukrainian
1 entries- коро́ль noun (a playing piece in chess)
Urdu
1 entries- بَادْشَاہ noun (a playing piece in chess)
Uzbek
2 entries- korol noun (a playing piece in chess)
- shoh noun (a playing piece in chess)
Venetan
1 entries- re noun (a playing piece in chess)
Vietnamese
1 entries- vua noun (a playing piece in chess)
Walloon
1 entries- rwè noun (a playing piece in chess)
Welsh
1 entries- brenin noun (a playing piece in chess)
White Hmong
1 entries- vaj noun (a playing piece in chess)
Sample sentences
38 total sentences available.
With the heirless king going crazy and royal family poisoned, the general of the army finally had his chance to usurp the throne.
Source: tatoeba (1942)
The king was tired of his sycophants always praising him, so he sent them away.
Source: tatoeba (1948)
There was a feeling of constraint in the room; no one dared to tell the king how foolish his decision was.
Source: tatoeba (2011)
Showing 4 of 38 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "king"?
Closest matches include rex, ace, anointed king, atheling, banker.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "king"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.