He and his clever staff of minor blackguards exploited to the full every weakness and caries in the London Society of the 'eighties, 'nineties, and 'oughts.
Source: wiktionary
Oughts
/ɑːts/
Synonyms for "oughts" (34 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (7)
Verb(2 words)
shouldbe supposed to
Strong matches (10)
Noun(1 words)
Verb(3 words)
Related words (17)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: should, allegiance, be supposed to, burden, business.
- Sentence evidence is available for oughts, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, opengloss, derived_reverse.
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 "oughts".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "oughts"
Keep "oughts" 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 "oughts" 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 "oughts", 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 "oughts" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Sample sentences
3 total sentences available.
2000, John Maxtone-Graham, Liners to the Sun, Sheridan House, Inc., →ISBN, page xii, And for the oughts—by which I suppose we must identify our new millennium's first decade—projected tonnage figures keep up the mind-boggling pace.
Source: wiktionary
The "experts" of the Western world are slower to turn around than an ocean liner, and in Europe they were still yakking about the "population explosion" even as their 1970s schoolhouses, built in anticipation of traditional Catholic birth rates, were emptying through the nineties and oughts.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "oughts"?
Closest matches include should, allegiance, be supposed to, burden, business.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "oughts"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.