The burglar shut the child in the closet.
Source: tatoeba (19206)
Shut
/ʃʌt/
Synonyms for "shut" (175 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (35)
Strong matches (53)
Related words (87)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: close, exclude, alley, ban, bang.
- Sentence evidence is available for shut, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, 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 "shut".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "shut"
Keep "shut" 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 "shut" 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 "shut", 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 "shut" 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
12 entriesMore specific
16 entriesCollocations
11 entriesemergency shutdownpower shutdownshut cabinetshut doorshut lidshut systemshut windowshutdown procedureshutdown sequenceshutoff valvesystem shutdown
Inflections
4 entriesDerivations
2 entriesAntonyms
1 entriessimilar
8 entriesTranslations
141 translations across 87 languages.
Afrikaans
2 entries- sluit verb ((transitive) to close)
- toemaak verb ((transitive) to close)
Albanian
1 entries- mbyll verb ((transitive) to close)
Ancient Greek
1 entries- κλείω verb ((transitive) to close)
Arabic
3 entries- أَغْلَقَ verb ((transitive) to close)
- اِنْغَلَقَ verb ((intransitive) to close, to stop being open)
- قفل verb ((transitive) to close)
Armenian
1 entries- փակել verb ((transitive) to close)
Assamese
3 entries- জপোৱা verb ((transitive) to close)
- বন্ধ কৰা verb ((transitive) to close)
- মুদা verb ((transitive) to close)
Asturian
2 entries- cerrar verb ((transitive) to close)
- zarrar verb ((transitive) to close)
Azerbaijani
3 entries- bağlamaq verb ((transitive) to close)
- qapamaq verb ((transitive) to close)
- örtmək verb ((transitive) to close)
Basque
1 entries- itxi verb ((transitive) to close)
Belarusian
2 entries- зачыня́ць verb ((transitive) to close)
- зачыні́ць verb ((transitive) to close)
Bengali
1 entries- বন্ধ করা verb ((transitive) to close)
Bulgarian
2 entries- затва́рям verb ((transitive) to close)
- затварям се verb ((intransitive) to close, to stop being open)
Burmese
1 entries- ပိတ် verb ((transitive) to close)
Central Kurdish
1 entries- داخستن verb ((transitive) to close)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎠᏍᏚᎲᏍᎦ verb ((transitive) to close)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 關 /关 verb ((transitive) to close)
Chinese Mandarin
3 entries- 閉 /闭 verb ((transitive) to close)
- 關 /关 verb ((transitive) to close)
- 關閉 /关闭 verb ((transitive) to close)
Czech
1 entries- zavřít verb ((transitive) to close)
Dalmatian
1 entries- seruar verb ((transitive) to close)
Danish
1 entries- lukke verb ((transitive) to close)
Dutch
2 entries- dichtklappen verb ((transitive) to close)
- sluiten verb ((transitive) to close)
Esperanto
1 entries- fermi verb ((transitive) to close)
Estonian
1 entries- sulgema verb ((transitive) to close)
Finnish
1 entries- sulkea verb ((transitive) to close)
French
1 entries- fermer verb ((transitive) to close)
Friulian
1 entries- sierâ verb ((transitive) to close)
Galician
1 entries- pechar verb ((transitive) to close)
Georgian
1 entries- დახურვა verb ((transitive) to close)
German
2 entries- schließen verb ((transitive) to close)
- zumachen verb ((transitive) to close)
Greek
1 entries- κλείνω verb ((transitive) to close)
Haitian Creole
1 entries- fèmen verb ((transitive) to close)
Hebrew
1 entries- סָגַר verb ((transitive) to close)
Hindi
1 entries- बंद करना verb ((transitive) to close)
Hungarian
1 entries- becsuk verb ((transitive) to close)
Icelandic
1 entries- loka verb ((transitive) to close)
Indonesian
3 entries- membungkam verb ((transitive) to close)
- menutup verb ((transitive) to close)
- menyumpal verb ((transitive) to close)
Irish
2 entries- dún verb ((transitive) to close)
- iaigh verb ((transitive) to close)
Italian
2 entries- chiudere verb ((transitive) to close)
- serrare verb ((transitive) to close)
Japanese
3 entries- 閉じる verb ((transitive) to close)
- 閉まる verb ((intransitive) to close, to stop being open)
- 閉める verb ((transitive) to close)
Kazakh
1 entries- жабу verb ((transitive) to close)
Khmer
1 entries- បិទ verb ((transitive) to close)
Korean
1 entries- 닫다 verb ((transitive) to close)
Kyrgyz
2 entries- бекитүү verb ((transitive) to close)
- жабуу verb ((transitive) to close)
Lao
1 entries- ອັດ verb ((transitive) to close)
Latin
1 entries- claudō verb ((transitive) to close)
Latvian
1 entries- aizvērt verb ((transitive) to close)
Lithuanian
1 entries- uždaryti verb ((transitive) to close)
Lombard
1 entries- sarà verb ((transitive) to close)
Low German
4 entries- dichtmaken verb ((transitive) to close)
- dichtmoken verb ((transitive) to close)
- sluten verb ((transitive) to close)
- slüten verb ((transitive) to close)
Macedonian
1 entries- за́твори verb ((transitive) to close)
Malay
3 entries- membungkam verb ((transitive) to close)
- mengatup verb ((transitive) to close)
- menutup verb ((transitive) to close)
Maltese
1 entries- għalaq verb ((transitive) to close)
Middle English
2 entries- schitten verb ((transitive) to close)
- schitten verb ((intransitive) to close, to stop being open)
Mongolian
1 entries- хаах verb ((transitive) to close)
Māori
4 entries- kamu verb ((transitive) to close)
- kapiti verb ((transitive) to close)
- kati verb ((transitive) to close)
- kiwa verb ((transitive) to close)
Nepali
1 entries- बन्द गर्नु verb ((transitive) to close)
Northern Kurdish
3 entries- daxistin verb ((transitive) to close)
- daêxistin verb ((transitive) to close)
- girtin verb ((transitive) to close)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- stenge verb ((transitive) to close)
Old English
1 entries- scyttan verb ((transitive) to close)
Ottoman Turkish
3 entries- اورتمك verb ((transitive) to close)
- قاپامق verb ((transitive) to close)
- یوممق verb ((transitive) to close)
Persian
1 entries- بستن verb ((transitive) to close)
Polish
2 entries- zamknąć verb ((transitive) to close)
- zamykać verb ((transitive) to close)
Portuguese
1 entries- fechar verb ((transitive) to close)
Romansch
2 entries- sarar verb ((transitive) to close)
- serrar verb ((transitive) to close)
Russian
2 entries- закры́ть verb ((transitive) to close)
- закрыва́ть verb ((transitive) to close)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- dùin verb ((transitive) to close)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- zatvoriti verb ((transitive) to close)
- затворити verb ((transitive) to close)
Sicilian
1 entries- chiùdiri verb ((transitive) to close)
Sinhalese
1 entries- වහනවා verb ((transitive) to close)
Slovak
1 entries- zavrieť verb ((transitive) to close)
Slovene
1 entries- zapreti verb ((transitive) to close)
Spanish
1 entries- cerrar verb ((transitive) to close)
Swedish
1 entries- stänga verb ((transitive) to close)
Tajik
2 entries- бастан verb ((transitive) to close)
- пӯшидан verb ((transitive) to close)
Telugu
1 entries- మూయు verb ((transitive) to close)
Thai
3 entries- งับ verb ((transitive) to close)
- ปิด verb ((transitive) to close)
- หุบ verb ((transitive) to close)
Tok Pisin
1 entries- pasim verb ((transitive) to close)
Turkish
1 entries- kapatmak verb ((transitive) to close)
Turkmen
2 entries- örtmek verb ((transitive) to close)
- ýapmak verb ((transitive) to close)
Ugaritic
1 entries- 𐎒𐎂𐎗 verb ((transitive) to close)
Ukrainian
4 entries- закри́ти verb ((transitive) to close)
- закрива́ти verb ((transitive) to close)
- зачини́ти verb ((transitive) to close)
- зачиня́ти verb ((transitive) to close)
Urdu
1 entries- بند کرنا verb ((transitive) to close)
Uzbek
2 entries- bekitmoq verb ((transitive) to close)
- yopmoq verb ((transitive) to close)
Venetan
2 entries- sarar verb ((transitive) to close)
- serar verb ((transitive) to close)
Vietnamese
1 entries- đóng verb ((transitive) to close)
Welsh
1 entries- cau verb ((transitive) to close)
Yiddish
2 entries- פֿאַרמאַכן verb ((transitive) to close)
- שליסן verb ((transitive) to close)
Sample sentences
40 total sentences available.
I feel cold. Would you shut the window, please?
Source: tatoeba (21176)
I think the only problem I have now is being shut in at home.
Source: tatoeba (24160)
It looks like rain. We had better shut the windows.
Source: tatoeba (26787)
Showing 4 of 40 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "shut"?
Closest matches include close, exclude, alley, ban, bang.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "shut"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.