Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "starlings" 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.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "starlings" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
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.
After choosing a replacement for "starlings", 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 "starlings" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
7 total sentences available.
But this decision failed to content the Methymnaeans, who, in a great fury, seized Daphnis and would have bound him, had not the villagers, irritated at such behaviour, sprung upon them as thick as starlings and rescued the young goatherd, who, on his side, began to fight in his own defence.
Source: tatoeba (6212719)
This is about the hawk and other birds. Maybe he dances better than they do, especially when he flies on the starlings! As for the song, that of other birds is much better, despite that it boasts.
Source: tatoeba (8639067)
Starlings are social animals.
Source: tatoeba (9627779)
Starlings can imitate human speech.
Source: tatoeba (11502897)
Showing 4 of 7 available sentences.
Closest matches include bird, common starling, european starling, passerine bird, starling.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.