The Indian flag is called the tricolour because it has stripes of three colours – saffron, white and green.
Source: tatoeba (480250)
Saffron
/ˈsæfɹən/
Synonyms for "saffron" (40 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (8)
Strong matches (12)
Related words (20)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: amber, beige, buff, canary, color.
- Sentence evidence is available for saffron, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from opengloss, derived_reverse, 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 "saffron".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "saffron"
Keep "saffron" 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 "saffron" 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 "saffron", 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 "saffron" 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
14 entriesMore specific
10 entriesCollocations
10 entriessaffron aromasaffron colorsaffron cultivationsaffron dyesaffron huesaffron marketsaffron powdersaffron robesaffron threadssaffron yellow
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
2 entriesTranslations
79 translations across 63 languages.
Albanian
2 entries- krrokull noun (plant)
- shafran noun (plant)
Ancient Greek
1 entries- κρόκος noun (plant)
Arabic
4 entries- زعفران noun (plant)
- زعفران noun (plant)
- زعفران noun (plant)
- زَعْفَرَان noun (plant)
Armenian
1 entries- քրքում noun (plant)
Asturian
1 entries- azafrán noun (plant)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- zəfəran noun (plant)
Bulgarian
1 entries- шафран noun (plant)
Burmese
1 entries- ကုံကုမံ noun (plant)
Catalan
2 entries- safranera noun (plant)
- safrà noun (plant)
Chinese Mandarin
3 entries- 番紅花 /番红花 noun (plant)
- 藏紅花 /藏红花 noun (plant)
- 西紅花 /西红花 noun (plant)
Cornish
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Czech
1 entries- šafrán noun (plant)
Danish
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Dargwa
1 entries- загӏпиран noun (plant)
Dutch
1 entries- saffraankrokus noun (plant)
Esperanto
1 entries- safrano noun (plant)
Estonian
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Faroese
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Finnish
1 entries- maustesahrami noun (plant)
French
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Friulian
1 entries- zafaran noun (plant)
Galician
2 entries- azafrán noun (plant)
- sasafrán noun (plant)
Georgian
1 entries- ზაფრანა noun (plant)
German
1 entries- Safran noun (plant)
Greek
1 entries- κρόκος noun (plant)
Hawaiian
1 entries- keloko noun (plant)
Hindi
4 entries- कुंकुम noun (plant)
- कुमकुम noun (plant)
- केसर noun (plant)
- ज़ाफ़रान noun (plant)
Hungarian
1 entries- sáfrány noun (plant)
Ido
1 entries- safrano noun (plant)
Italian
1 entries- zafferano noun (plant)
Japanese
1 entries- サフラン noun (plant)
Kannada
1 entries- ಕೇಸರಿ noun (plant)
Khmer
1 entries- រមៀត noun (plant)
Lao
1 entries- ຫຍ້າຝັ່ນ noun (plant)
Latin
2 entries- crocus noun (plant)
- safranum noun (plant)
Maltese
1 entries- żagħfran noun (plant)
Manx
1 entries- crogh noun (plant)
Marathi
1 entries- केसर noun (plant)
Mongolian
1 entries- гүргэм noun (plant)
Mycenaean Greek
1 entries- 𐁉 noun (plant)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- safrankrokus noun (plant)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- safrankrokus noun (plant)
Persian
1 entries- زعفران noun (plant)
Piedmontese
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Polish
2 entries- krokus noun (plant)
- szafran noun (plant)
Portuguese
1 entries- açafrão noun (plant)
Romagnol
1 entries- ẓafarân noun (plant)
Romanian
1 entries- șofran noun (plant)
Russian
1 entries- шафра́н noun (plant)
Sanskrit
1 entries- कुङ्कुम noun (plant)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- šafran noun (plant)
- шафран noun (plant)
Slovak
1 entries- šafran noun (plant)
Slovene
1 entries- žafran noun (plant)
Spanish
1 entries- azafrán noun (plant)
Swahili
1 entries- mzafarani noun (plant)
Swedish
1 entries- saffran noun (plant)
Tamil
1 entries- குங்குமப்பூ noun (plant)
Thai
1 entries- หญ้าฝรั่น noun (plant)
Turkish
1 entries- safran noun (plant)
Urdu
2 entries- زعفران noun (plant)
- کیسر noun (plant)
Venetan
2 entries- croco noun (plant)
- zafran noun (plant)
Vietnamese
1 entries- nghệ tây noun (plant)
Volapük
1 entries- safranakrok noun (plant)
Sample sentences
45 total sentences available.
Will you buy for me some saffron?
Source: tatoeba (754081)
Rich presents, too, he sends for, saved of old / from Troy, a veil, whose saffron edges shone / fringed with acanthus, glorious to behold, / a broidered mantle, stiff with figures wrought in gold. / Fair Helen's ornaments, from Argos brought, / the gift of Leda, when the Trojan shore / and lawless nuptials o'er the waves she sought.
Source: tatoeba (6798347)
They praise the boy, his glowing looks divine, / the words he feigned, the royal gifts he brought, / the robe, the saffron veil with bright acanthus wrought.
Source: tatoeba (6800185)
Showing 4 of 45 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "saffron"?
Closest matches include amber, beige, buff, canary, color.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "saffron"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.