Echo was brought up by the Nymphs, and the Muses taught her to play upon the pipe, the flute, the lyre, and the harp, in fact, to excel in every kind of music.
Source: tatoeba (6213153)
Lyre
/ˈlaɪ.ɚ/
Synonyms for "lyre" (10 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: decorative motif, emblem, harp, icon, lyra.
- Sentence evidence is available for lyre, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from opengloss, wiktionary.
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 "lyre".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "lyre"
Keep "lyre" 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 "lyre" 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 "lyre", 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 "lyre" 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 entriesCollocations
6 entriesancient lyregolden lyrelyre motiflyre playerlyre stringsmuseum lyre
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
1 entriesTranslations
54 translations across 47 languages.
Albanian
2 entries- jongarsharki noun (stringed musical instrument)
- sharkë noun (stringed musical instrument)
Ancient Greek
3 entries- κιθάρα noun (stringed musical instrument)
- λύρα noun (stringed musical instrument)
- φόρμιγξ noun (stringed musical instrument)
Arabic
1 entries- كِنَّارَة noun (stringed musical instrument)
Armenian
1 entries- քնար noun (stringed musical instrument)
Basque
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Bulgarian
1 entries- лира noun (stringed musical instrument)
Catalan
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Chinese
1 entries- 里拉 noun (stringed musical instrument)
Coptic
2 entries- ⲕⲓⲑⲁⲣⲁ noun (stringed musical instrument)
- ⲗⲩⲣⲁ noun (stringed musical instrument)
Czech
1 entries- lyra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Danish
1 entries- lyre noun (stringed musical instrument)
Dutch
1 entries- lier noun (stringed musical instrument)
Esperanto
1 entries- liro noun (stringed musical instrument)
Estonian
1 entries- lüüra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Faroese
1 entries- lýri noun (stringed musical instrument)
Finnish
1 entries- lyyra noun (stringed musical instrument)
French
1 entries- lyre noun (stringed musical instrument)
German
2 entries- Leier noun (stringed musical instrument)
- Lyra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Greek
1 entries- λύρα noun (stringed musical instrument)
Hebrew
1 entries- כִּנּוֹר noun (stringed musical instrument)
Hiligaynon
1 entries- árpa noun (stringed musical instrument)
Hungarian
1 entries- líra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Icelandic
1 entries- lýra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Ido
1 entries- liro noun (stringed musical instrument)
Irish
1 entries- lir noun (stringed musical instrument)
Italian
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Japanese
1 entries- ライアー noun (stringed musical instrument)
Latin
1 entries- lyra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Lithuanian
1 entries- lyra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Occitan
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Old English
1 entries- hearpe noun (stringed musical instrument)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- چنك noun (stringed musical instrument)
Persian
2 entries- چنگ noun (stringed musical instrument)
- چنگ رومی noun (stringed musical instrument)
Piedmontese
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Polish
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Portuguese
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Romanian
1 entries- liră noun (stringed musical instrument)
Russian
1 entries- ли́ра noun (stringed musical instrument)
Serbo-Croatian
1 entries- lȋra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Slovak
1 entries- lýra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Slovene
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Spanish
1 entries- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Swahili
2 entries- kinubi kidogo noun (stringed musical instrument)
- lira noun (stringed musical instrument)
Swedish
1 entries- lyra noun (stringed musical instrument)
Turkish
1 entries- lir noun (stringed musical instrument)
Ugaritic
1 entries- 𐎋𐎐𐎗 noun (stringed musical instrument)
Welsh
1 entries- telyn gron noun (stringed musical instrument)
Sample sentences
11 total sentences available.
His golden lyre long-haired Iopas tunes, / and sings what Atlas taught in loftiest strain.
Source: tatoeba (6800350)
Take from my frozen hands thy hands of fire, And of my heart-strings make thee a new lyre, That in thy music men may find my voice, And something of me still on earth rejoice.
Source: tatoeba (7547815)
Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was presented by his father with a Lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to such perfection that nothing could withstand the charm of his music.
Source: tatoeba (7547818)
Showing 4 of 11 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "lyre"?
Closest matches include decorative motif, emblem, harp, icon, lyra.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "lyre"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.