devise

Questions about devise

What is another word for devise?

It depends which devise you mean. In the sense “come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort”, the synonyms are invent, contrive, excogitate, formulate, forge. Across all 5 senses there are 10 distinct synonyms, and they are not interchangeable with each other — this page lists them under the sense each one belongs to.

What is the opposite of devise?

WordNet records no antonym for devise. Antonymy in WordNet is a relation between specific word forms rather than between concepts, so it is recorded only where lexicographers judged the pairing direct. An absence here means none was recorded, not that none can be imagined.

Why are the synonyms for devise split into groups?

Because devise carries 5 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Where do the synonyms for devise come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of devise

• Full entry for deviseAll 5 senses, with examples, usage labels, syllables and pronunciation.
• Rhymes for deviseWords matching from the last stressed vowel onward, grouped by syllable count.
• Thesaurus homeHow WordNet synsets work, and the collections built for synonym work.