You don't marry someone you can live with — you marry the person whom you cannot live without.
Source: tatoeba (1853)
Whom
/huːm/
Synonyms for "whom" (7 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: archaic form, formal variant, object pronoun, that, the object.
- Sentence evidence is available for whom, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from 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 "whom".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "whom"
Keep "whom" 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 "whom" 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 "whom", 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 "whom" 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
96 translations across 37 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- wie pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Arabic
2 entries- مَنْ pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- مَنْ pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Armenian
2 entries- ում pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- ում pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Asturian
2 entries- quienes pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- quién pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Bulgarian
2 entries- кого pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- кому pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Catalan
2 entries- qui pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- quins pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Czech
4 entries- koho pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- komu pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- kterého pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- kterému pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Danish
2 entries- hvem pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- hvem pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Esperanto
4 entries- kiu pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- kiuj pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- kiujn pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- kiun pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Finnish
4 entries- keiltä pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- keltä pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- keneltä pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- kenen pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
French
2 entries- que pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- qui pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
German
2 entries- wem pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- wen pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Haitian Creole
2 entries- kimoun pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- kimoun pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Hindi
1 entries- किस pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Hungarian
2 entries- kicsodát pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- kit pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Ido
1 entries- quan pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Italian
2 entries- chi pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- chi pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Latin
3 entries- cui pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- quam pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- quem pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Latvian
1 entries- kam pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Macedonian
2 entries- кого pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- кому pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Mari
1 entries- кӧм pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Middle English
2 entries- whom pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- whom pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Ngazidja Comorian
2 entries- nɗo pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- nɗopvi pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Norwegian Bokmål
2 entries- hvem pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- hvem pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Norwegian Nynorsk
2 entries- kven pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- kven pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Occitan
3 entries- a qui pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- que pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- qui pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Polish
2 entries- kogo pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- komu pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Portuguese
4 entries- (for nonhumans) o quê pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- (for nonhumans) o quê pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- o que pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- o que pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Russian
4 entries- кем pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- кем pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- кого́ pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- кого́ pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Spanish
4 entries- cuyo pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- quién pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- quién pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- quiénes pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Swedish
4 entries- vem pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- vem pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- vilka pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- vilka pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Tagalog
1 entries- kanino pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Tamil
4 entries- எவன் pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- எவர் pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- எவள் pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- யார் pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
Turkish
1 entries- kimi pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Ukrainian
4 entries- ким pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- кого́ pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
- кого́ pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- кому́ pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Volapük
2 entries- kime pron (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))
- kimi pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Welsh
1 entries- pwy pron (what person; object of a verb (accusative))
Sample sentences
29 total sentences available.
Whom are you speaking of?
Source: tatoeba (15907)
For whom will you vote for president?
Source: tatoeba (22346)
It is Tom whom I want to see.
Source: tatoeba (22593)
Showing 4 of 29 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "whom"?
Closest matches include archaic form, formal variant, object pronoun, that, the object.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "whom"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.