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work has 40 distinct synonyms spread across 21 of its 34 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. Its one recorded opposite is idle.
Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
“I will work hard to improve my grades”
proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity
“work your way through every problem or task”
move in an agitated manner
“His fingers worked with tension”
behave in a certain way when handled
“This dough does not work easily”
operate in or through
“Work the phones”
cause to operate or function
“This pilot works the controls”
provoke or excite
“The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy”
gratify and charm, usually in order to influence
“the political candidate worked the crowds”
find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
“did you solve the problem?”
arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion
“The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times”
1 of the 34 recorded senses carries no synonym, antonym or related term, so it is not shown above. Every sense, with its definition and examples, is on the full entry for work.
Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for work come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.
a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing
“it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works”
(physics) a manifestation of energy; the transfer of energy from one physical system to another expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which it moves a body in the direction of that force
“work equals force times distance”
the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it)
“he studied the entire Wagnerian oeuvre”