In her latest works she lets the uncanny swing like a grotesque pendulum from the humorous into homelike cosiness and back again.
Source: tatoeba (1248084)
Pendulum
/ˈpɛnd͡ʒələm/
Synonyms for "pendulum" (83 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (17)
Strong matches (25)
Related words (41)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: array, articulation, bank, buzz, catena.
- Sentence evidence is available for pendulum, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss.
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 "pendulum".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "pendulum"
Keep "pendulum" 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 "pendulum" 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 "pendulum", 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 "pendulum" 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
6 entriesMore specific
5 entriesFoucault pendulumclock pendulumeconomic pendulumpolitical pendulumtorsion pendulum
Collocations
6 entriesFoucault pendulumclock pendulumpendulum clockpendulum motionpendulum periodswinging pendulum
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
3 entriesTranslations
82 translations across 62 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- lavjerrës noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Arabic
3 entries- بَنْدُول noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- رَقَّاص noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- نُوَاس noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Armenian
1 entries- ճոճանակ noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- kəfgir noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Basque
1 entries- pendulu noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Belarusian
1 entries- ма́ятнік noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Bulgarian
1 entries- маха́ло noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Burmese
1 entries- ချိန်သီး noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Catalan
1 entries- pèndol noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Chinese Mandarin
3 entries- 擺 /摆 noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- 擺鐘 /摆钟 noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- 鐘擺 /钟摆 noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Czech
1 entries- kyvadlo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Danish
1 entries- pendul noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Dutch
1 entries- slinger noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Esperanto
1 entries- pendolo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Estonian
1 entries- pendel noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Finnish
1 entries- heiluri noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
French
1 entries- pendule noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Galician
1 entries- péndulo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Georgian
1 entries- ქანქარა noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
German
1 entries- Pendel noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Greek
1 entries- εκκρεμές noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Hebrew
1 entries- מְטוּטֶלֶת noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Hindi
3 entries- दोलक noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- लंगर noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- लोलक noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Hungarian
1 entries- inga noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Icelandic
4 entries- dingull noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- hengill noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- kólfur noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- pendúll noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Ido
1 entries- pendulo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Indonesian
1 entries- bandul noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Italian
1 entries- pendolo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Japanese
1 entries- 振り子 noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Kazakh
1 entries- маятник noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Khmer
2 entries- បណ្ដូន noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- ប៉ោល noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Korean
1 entries- 진자 noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- маятник noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Lao
1 entries- ໝາກກະໂຕ້ນ noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Latin
1 entries- pendulum noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Latvian
1 entries- svārsts noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Lithuanian
2 entries- svyruoklė noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- švytuoklė noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Macedonian
1 entries- нишало noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Malay
1 entries- bandul noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Mongolian
2 entries- дүүжин noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- ᠳᠡᠭᠦᠵᠢᠩ noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Māori
1 entries- tārere noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- pendel noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- رقاص noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Persian
3 entries- آونگ noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- رقاصک noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- پاندول noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Polish
1 entries- wahadło noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Portuguese
1 entries- pêndulo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Romanian
1 entries- pendul noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Russian
1 entries- ма́ятник noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- klátno noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- кла́тно noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Slovak
1 entries- kyvadlo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Slovene
1 entries- nihalo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Spanish
1 entries- péndulo noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Swedish
1 entries- pendel noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Tajik
2 entries- ованг noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- раққосак noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Thai
1 entries- ลูกตุ้ม noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Turkish
3 entries- pandül noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- rakkas noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- sarkaç noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Turkmen
1 entries- maýatnik noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Ukrainian
2 entries- вага́дло noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- ма́ятник noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Uyghur
1 entries- ماياتنىك noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Uzbek
1 entries- mayatnik noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Vietnamese
2 entries- con lắc noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
- quả lắc noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Volapük
1 entries- pendül noun (body suspended from a fixed support)
Sample sentences
11 total sentences available.
Not a great deal of energy is required for keeping a free moving pendulum in a state of oscillation.
Source: tatoeba (5427825)
He reached into the case and stopped the pendulum.
Source: tatoeba (5534887)
The pendulum swung back and forth.
Source: tatoeba (6980534)
Showing 4 of 11 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "pendulum"?
Closest matches include array, articulation, bank, buzz, catena.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "pendulum"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.