On other screens are closeups of skin pores, before and after, details of regimes for everything, your hands, your neck, your thighs. Your elbows, especially your elbows: aging begins at the elbows and metastasizes.
Source: wiktionary
Metastasize
/məˈtæstəsaɪz/
Synonyms for "metastasize" (35 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (7)
Strong matches (11)
Verb(3 words)
Related words (17)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: assign, carry over, communicate, consign, deliver.
- Sentence evidence is available for metastasize, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet.
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 "metastasize".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "metastasize"
Keep "metastasize" 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 "metastasize" 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 "metastasize", 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 "metastasize" 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
4 entrieshematogenous spreadlymphatic spreadrumor spreadviral diffusion
Collocations
6 entriesdistant metastasismetastasis pathwaymetastasis suppressormetastatic cancermetastatic spreadrate of metastasis
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
3 entriesSample sentences
5 total sentences available.
‘Your lump could be a secondary cancer metastasized from the bowel. I had a patient like that not long ago.’
Source: wiktionary
“I remember the first time he woke up throwing up, and my first thought wasn't, ‘Oh he has the stomach flu,'” she said. “It was, ‘Oh, it's gone to his brain, and it's metastasized his brain, and he's throwing up because of that.'”
Source: wiktionary
If enough Americans expose themselves to the virus and become immune, the theory goes, the country would have a mobilized cadre of immune citizens. […] The article was widely discredited by public health experts and economists, as both logically dubious and ethically specious, but such thinking has already metastasized.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 5 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "metastasize"?
Closest matches include assign, carry over, communicate, consign, deliver.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "metastasize"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.