Bill was careless in handling his pistol.
Source: tatoeba (34597)
Pistol
/ˈpɪstəl/
Synonyms for "pistol" (88 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: handgun, automatic, blow to pieces, blow up, blowgun.
- Sentence evidence is available for pistol, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, 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 "pistol".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "pistol"
Keep "pistol" 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 "pistol" 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 "pistol", 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 "pistol" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
Translations
143 translations across 94 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- pistoletë noun (handgun)
Amharic
1 entries- ሽጉጥ noun (handgun)
Arabic
4 entries- طَبَنْجَة noun (handgun)
- غَدَّارَة noun (handgun)
- فَرْد noun (handgun)
- فَرْد noun (handgun)
Armenian
1 entries- ատրճանակ noun (handgun)
Avar
1 entries- таманча noun (handgun)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
- tapança noun (handgun)
Belarusian
1 entries- пістале́т noun (handgun)
Bengali
1 entries- পিস্তল noun (handgun)
Betawi
1 entries- bècèng noun (handgun)
Bulgarian
1 entries- пистоле́т noun (handgun)
Burmese
1 entries- သေနတ် noun (handgun)
Catalan
1 entries- pistola noun (handgun)
Chechen
1 entries- тапча noun (handgun)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎦᎶᏇ noun (handgun)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 手槍 /手枪 noun (handgun)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 手槍 /手枪 noun (handgun)
Czech
1 entries- pistole noun (handgun)
Danish
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Dari
1 entries- تُفَنْگْچَه noun (handgun)
Dutch
1 entries- pistool noun (handgun)
Esperanto
1 entries- pistolo noun (handgun)
Estonian
1 entries- püstol noun (handgun)
Finnish
1 entries- pistooli noun (handgun)
French
1 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
Georgian
2 entries- დამბაჩა noun (handgun)
- პისტოლეტი noun (handgun)
German
2 entries- Faustfeuerwaffe noun (handgun)
- Pistole noun (handgun)
Greek
1 entries- πιστόλι noun (handgun)
Gujarati
2 entries- તમંચો noun (handgun)
- પિસ્તોલ noun (handgun)
Hebrew
1 entries- אֶקְדָח noun (handgun)
Hindi
4 entries- तमंचा noun (handgun)
- पिस्तौल noun (handgun)
- बंदूक noun (handgun)
- बंदूक़ noun (handgun)
Hungarian
1 entries- pisztoly noun (handgun)
Icelandic
1 entries- skammbyssa noun (handgun)
Ido
1 entries- pistolo noun (handgun)
Indonesian
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Ingrian
1 entries- pistoletti noun (handgun)
Iranian Persian
2 entries- تَمَنْچِه noun (handgun)
- تَپانْچِه noun (handgun)
Irish
1 entries- piostal noun (handgun)
Italian
1 entries- pistola noun (handgun)
Japanese
4 entries- ピストル noun (handgun)
- 弾き noun (handgun)
- 手筒 noun (handgun)
- 拳銃 noun (handgun)
Kazakh
2 entries- пистолет noun (handgun)
- тапанша noun (handgun)
Khmer
2 entries- កាំភ្លើងខ្លី noun (handgun)
- កាំភ្លើងដៃ noun (handgun)
Kikuyu
1 entries- mũcinga noun (handgun)
Korean
2 entries- 권총 noun (handgun)
- 피스톨 noun (handgun)
Kyrgyz
2 entries- пистолет noun (handgun)
- тапанча noun (handgun)
Lao
2 entries- ປືນພົກ noun (handgun)
- ປືນສັ້ນ noun (handgun)
Latin
4 entries- pistōla noun (handgun)
- pistōlettus (unadapted) noun (handgun)
- pistōlium noun (handgun)
- sclopētus brevior noun (handgun)
Latvian
1 entries- pistole noun (handgun)
Lezgi
1 entries- тапанчи noun (handgun)
Lithuanian
1 entries- pistoletas noun (handgun)
Luxembourgish
1 entries- Pistoul noun (handgun)
Macedonian
1 entries- пиштол noun (handgun)
Malay
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Mongolian
1 entries- гар буу noun (handgun)
Māori
2 entries- kope noun (handgun)
- pītara noun (handgun)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Occitan
1 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
Odia
1 entries- ପିସ୍ତଲ noun (handgun)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- طبانجه noun (handgun)
Pannonian Rusyn
1 entries- пиштоль noun (handgun)
Pashto
4 entries- تفنګچه noun (handgun)
- تمانچه noun (handgun)
- تومانچه noun (handgun)
- توپنچه noun (handgun)
Polish
1 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
Portuguese
1 entries- pistola noun (handgun)
Quechua
1 entries- maki illapa noun (handgun)
Romanian
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Russian
2 entries- пистоле́т noun (handgun)
- пу́шка noun (handgun)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- daga noun (handgun)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- pìštōlj noun (handgun)
- pùcāljka noun (handgun)
- sȁmokrēs noun (handgun)
- пу̀ца̄љка noun (handgun)
Sinhalese
1 entries- පිස්තෝලය noun (handgun)
Slovak
1 entries- pištoľ noun (handgun)
Slovene
1 entries- pištola noun (handgun)
Spanish
2 entries- charpe noun (handgun)
- pistola noun (handgun)
Swahili
1 entries- bastola noun (handgun)
Swedish
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Tajik
3 entries- пистолет noun (handgun)
- таппонча noun (handgun)
- туфангча noun (handgun)
Tamil
2 entries- துப்பாக்கி noun (handgun)
- பிஸ்டல் noun (handgun)
Tarifit
1 entries- azidan noun (handgun)
Tatar
1 entries- пистолет noun (handgun)
Telugu
1 entries- పిస్టల్ noun (handgun)
Thai
2 entries- ปืนพก noun (handgun)
- ปืนสั้น noun (handgun)
Tibetan
1 entries- པི་སི་ཏོབ noun (handgun)
Tigrinya
1 entries- ሽጉጥ noun (handgun)
Turkish
1 entries- tabanca noun (handgun)
Turkmen
3 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
- pistolýet noun (handgun)
- sapança noun (handgun)
Ukrainian
1 entries- пістоле́т noun (handgun)
Unami
1 entries- tèthakètik noun (handgun)
Urdu
4 entries- بَنْدُوق noun (handgun)
- تَمَنْچَہ noun (handgun)
- تَپَنْچَہ noun (handgun)
- پِسْتَول noun (handgun)
Uyghur
1 entries- تاپانچا noun (handgun)
Uzbek
2 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
- toʻpponcha noun (handgun)
Vietnamese
2 entries- súng lục noun (handgun)
- súng ngắn noun (handgun)
Walloon
1 entries- pistolet noun (handgun)
Welsh
1 entries- pistol noun (handgun)
Written Oirat
1 entries- ᡌᡅᠰᡐᡆᠯ noun (handgun)
Yiddish
2 entries- נאַגאַן noun (handgun)
- פּיסטויל noun (handgun)
Sample sentences
13 total sentences available.
A pistol bullet went clean through his leg.
Source: tatoeba (34780)
The police officer pointed his pistol at the criminal, who, in turn, held his pistol directly pointed at the officer. Neither had the advantage, the position was a stalemate.
Source: tatoeba (238142)
He was careless in handling his pistol.
Source: tatoeba (292509)
Showing 4 of 13 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "pistol"?
Closest matches include handgun, automatic, blow to pieces, blow up, blowgun.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "pistol"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.