We elected him to be mayor.
Source: tatoeba (22713)
Mayor
/ˈmeɪ.əɹ/
Synonyms for "mayor" (53 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (11)
Noun(4 words)
Strong matches (16)
chancellorcity councilmancity fathercity managercommissarcommissionercouncillorcouncilmancouncilwomancounty commissionercounty supervisor
Noun(5 words)
city chief executivecity figureheadcity managercity officialcivic representative
Related words (26)
elderheadmanindunalegislatorlord mayormagistratemaireministerminister of stateportreevereevesecretarysecretary of stateselectmansupervisorsyndicundersecretarywarden
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: alderman, archon, bailie, boroughmaster, boroughreeve.
- Sentence evidence is available for mayor, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, wiktionary, opengloss, 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 "mayor".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "mayor"
Keep "mayor" 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 "mayor" 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 "mayor", 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 "mayor" 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
5 entriesMore specific
5 entriesacting mayorceremonial mayorhonorary mayorinterim mayorstrong mayor
Collocations
6 entriesInflections
1 entriesDerivations
4 entriesTranslations
170 translations across 95 languages.
Akkadian
2 entries- hazannātum noun (leader of a city)
- ḫazannum noun (leader of a city)
Albanian
1 entries- kryebashkiak noun (leader of a city)
Arabic
1 entries- عُمْدَة noun (leader of a city)
Armenian
1 entries- քաղաքապետ noun (leader of a city)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
1 entries- ܪܹܝܫ ܡܕܝܼܢ݇ܬܵܐ noun (leader of a city)
Asturian
2 entries- alcalde noun (leader of a city)
- alcaldesa noun (leader of a city)
Azerbaijani
3 entries- icra başçısı noun (leader of a city)
- icra hakimiyyəti başçısı noun (leader of a city)
- mer noun (leader of a city)
Basque
2 entries- alkate noun (leader of a city)
- auzapez noun (leader of a city)
Bavarian German
1 entries- Buagamasta noun (leader of a city)
Belarusian
2 entries- мэ́рка noun (leader of a city)
- мэр noun (leader of a city)
Breton
1 entries- maer noun (leader of a city)
Bulgarian
4 entries- градонача́лник noun (leader of a city)
- градонача́лница noun (leader of a city)
- градонача́лничка noun (leader of a city)
- кмет noun (leader of a city)
Burmese
1 entries- မြို့တော်ဝန် noun (leader of a city)
Catalan
4 entries- alcalde noun (leader of a city)
- alcaldessa noun (leader of a city)
- batlle noun (leader of a city)
- batllessa noun (leader of a city)
Cebuano
2 entries- alkalde noun (leader of a city)
- mayor noun (leader of a city)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 市長 /市长 noun (leader of a city)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 市長 /市长 noun (leader of a city)
Czech
2 entries- starosta noun (leader of a city)
- starostka noun (leader of a city)
Danish
2 entries- borgmester noun (leader of a city)
- borgmesterinde noun (leader of a city)
Dutch
1 entries- burgemeester noun (leader of a city)
Erzya
1 entries- ошазор noun (leader of a city)
Esperanto
1 entries- urbestro noun (leader of a city)
Estonian
1 entries- linnapea noun (leader of a city)
Faroese
1 entries- borgarstjóri noun (leader of a city)
Finnish
3 entries- kaupunginjohtaja noun (leader of a city)
- määri noun (leader of a city)
- pormestari noun (leader of a city)
French
3 entries- bourgmestre noun (leader of a city)
- maire noun (leader of a city)
- mairesse noun (leader of a city)
Galician
2 entries- alcalde noun (leader of a city)
- alcaldesa noun (leader of a city)
Georgian
1 entries- მერი noun (leader of a city)
German
2 entries- Bürgermeister noun (leader of a city)
- Bürgermeisterin noun (leader of a city)
Greek
2 entries- δήμαρχος noun (leader of a city)
- δημαρχίνα noun (leader of a city)
Greenlandic
1 entries- borgmesteri noun (leader of a city)
Hebrew
2 entries- רֹאשׁ עִיר noun (leader of a city)
- ראש עירייה \ רֹאשׁ עִירִיָּה noun (leader of a city)
Hindi
2 entries- महापौर noun (leader of a city)
- मेयर noun (leader of a city)
Hungarian
2 entries- főpolgármester noun (leader of a city)
- polgármester noun (leader of a city)
Icelandic
2 entries- borgarstjóri noun (leader of a city)
- bæjarstjóri noun (leader of a city)
Ido
1 entries- urbestro noun (leader of a city)
Ilocano
1 entries- basar noun (leader of a city)
Indonesian
1 entries- wali kota noun (leader of a city)
Interlingua
1 entries- burgomaestro noun (leader of a city)
Iranian Persian
1 entries- شَهْرْدار noun (leader of a city)
Irish
1 entries- méara noun (leader of a city)
Italian
4 entries- prima cittadina noun (leader of a city)
- primo cittadino noun (leader of a city)
- sindaca noun (leader of a city)
- sindaco noun (leader of a city)
Japanese
1 entries- 市長 noun (leader of a city)
Javanese
1 entries- walikutha noun (leader of a city)
Kazakh
2 entries- мэр noun (leader of a city)
- қалабасы noun (leader of a city)
Khmer
1 entries- ចៅហ្វាយក្រុង noun (leader of a city)
Korean
1 entries- 시장 noun (leader of a city)
Kyrgyz
2 entries- мэр noun (leader of a city)
- шаарбашы noun (leader of a city)
Lao
1 entries- ນາຍົກເທສະມົນຕີ noun (leader of a city)
Latvian
2 entries- mēre noun (leader of a city)
- mērs noun (leader of a city)
Lithuanian
2 entries- meras noun (leader of a city)
- merė noun (leader of a city)
Lower Sorbian
2 entries- šołta noun (leader of a city)
- šołtowka noun (leader of a city)
Luxembourgish
1 entries- Buergermeeschter noun (leader of a city)
Macedonian
3 entries- градоначалник noun (leader of a city)
- градоначалница noun (leader of a city)
- градоначалничка noun (leader of a city)
Malay
1 entries- datuk bandar noun (leader of a city)
Maltese
1 entries- sindku noun (leader of a city)
Manx
1 entries- meoir noun (leader of a city)
Marathi
1 entries- महापौर noun (leader of a city)
Mongolian
2 entries- хотын дарга noun (leader of a city)
- ᠬᠣᠲᠠ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠭᠠ noun (leader of a city)
Māori
1 entries- mea noun (leader of a city)
Norman
1 entries- maire noun (leader of a city)
Northern Kurdish
2 entries- şaredar noun (leader of a city)
- şaredar noun (leader of a city)
Northern Sami
2 entries- bormeašttir noun (leader of a city)
- sátnejođiheaddji noun (leader of a city)
Norwegian Bokmål
4 entries- borgermester noun (leader of a city)
- borgermesterinne noun (leader of a city)
- ordfører noun (leader of a city)
- ordførerinne noun (leader of a city)
Norwegian Nynorsk
3 entries- borgarmeister noun (leader of a city)
- ordførar noun (leader of a city)
- ordførarinne noun (leader of a city)
Occitan
1 entries- cònsol noun (leader of a city)
Pannonian Rusyn
2 entries- городоначалнїк noun (leader of a city)
- городоначалнїца noun (leader of a city)
Pashto
1 entries- ښاروال noun (leader of a city)
Polish
3 entries- burmistrz noun (leader of a city)
- burmistrzyni noun (leader of a city)
- prezydent miasta noun (leader of a city)
Portuguese
2 entries- prefeito noun (leader of a city)
- presidente da câmara noun (leader of a city)
Quechua
1 entries- kamachiq noun (leader of a city)
Romanian
3 entries- primar noun (leader of a city)
- primăreasă noun (leader of a city)
- primăriță noun (leader of a city)
Russian
4 entries- бургоми́стр noun (leader of a city)
- градонача́льник noun (leader of a city)
- градонача́льница noun (leader of a city)
- мэр noun (leader of a city)
Scottish Gaelic
2 entries- mèar noun (leader of a city)
- probhaist noun (leader of a city)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- gradonáčelnica noun (leader of a city)
- gradonáčelnīk noun (leader of a city)
- градона́челница noun (leader of a city)
- градона́челнӣк noun (leader of a city)
Slovak
2 entries- starosta noun (leader of a city)
- starostka noun (leader of a city)
Slovene
2 entries- župan noun (leader of a city)
- županja noun (leader of a city)
Spanish
4 entries- alcalde noun (leader of a city)
- alcaldesa noun (leader of a city)
- intendente noun (leader of a city)
- presidente municipal noun (leader of a city)
Swahili
1 entries- meya noun (leader of a city)
Swedish
2 entries- borgmästare noun (leader of a city)
- borgmästarinna noun (leader of a city)
Tagalog
1 entries- alkalde noun (leader of a city)
Tajik
2 entries- мэр noun (leader of a city)
- шаҳрдор noun (leader of a city)
Thai
2 entries- นายก noun (leader of a city)
- นายกเทศมนตรี noun (leader of a city)
Turkish
1 entries- belediye başkanı noun (leader of a city)
Turkmen
1 entries- mer noun (leader of a city)
Ukrainian
2 entries- ме́рка noun (leader of a city)
- мер noun (leader of a city)
Upper Sorbian
1 entries- měšćanosta noun (leader of a city)
Urdu
2 entries- رَئِیسِ بَلْدِیَہ noun (leader of a city)
- میئَر noun (leader of a city)
Uyghur
1 entries- شەھەر باشلىقى noun (leader of a city)
Uzbek
1 entries- mer noun (leader of a city)
Venetan
2 entries- prefeto noun (leader of a city)
- sìndico noun (leader of a city)
Vietnamese
1 entries- thị trưởng noun (leader of a city)
Volapük
3 entries- hisifal noun (leader of a city)
- jisifal noun (leader of a city)
- sifal noun (leader of a city)
Welsh
1 entries- maer noun (leader of a city)
Yiddish
2 entries- בירגערמײַסטער noun (leader of a city)
- מייאָר noun (leader of a city)
Sample sentences
17 total sentences available.
I have a high regard for the integrity of our mayor.
Source: tatoeba (23404)
With his support, she might have been elected mayor.
Source: tatoeba (30660)
The mayor is sensitive to the way his programs have been criticized.
Source: tatoeba (47347)
Showing 4 of 17 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "mayor"?
Closest matches include alderman, archon, bailie, boroughmaster, boroughreeve.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "mayor"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.