EN

Synonyms for cause

  • noun
  • verb

Most common

purpose motive aim intention reason occasion movement action

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Purpose — A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends

purpose, motive, aim, intention, object, goal, sake US, saki UK, ambition, aspiration, objective

2. Reason — sufficient reason

reason, occasion, principle, grounds, ground, justification

3. Movement

movement, effort, drive, crusade, campaign, undertaking, enterprise

4. Action — A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he…

action, case, suit, lawsuit, litigation, agency

Other

root, source, origin, side, etiology US, aetiology UK, consideration, basis, genesis, antecedent, incentive, inducement, originator

Verb

create, make, induce, have, lead to, engender, produce, give rise to, give, raise, get, bring about, bring, trigger, mean, generate, originate, stimulate, beget, draw, breed, do dated

Antonyms

consequence, impediment, avert

All antonyms of cause →

Definitions

  1. n. 1

    Sufficient reason.

    He has no cause to do that.

  2. n. 2

    A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.

  3. n. 3

    A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.

  4. v. 1

    To set off an event or action; to bring about; to produce.

    The lightning caused thunder.

Related words

Word family
causal causality causative causeless causation causer
Phrases
final cause make common cause first cause lost cause cause of death efficient cause motor cause probable cause

Forms

Plural
causes → purposes, motives, aims, intentions…
Past participle
caused
e.g. caused → created, induced, engendered, produced…

Choose the right word

Cause, Creator or Antecedent?

The Creator is the Great First Cause of all things. An antecedent simply precedes a result, with or without any agency in producing it; as, Monday is the invariable antecedent of Tuesday, but not the cause of it.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • purpose What is the main purpose of your studying English?
  • objective You seem to have lost sight of original objective.
  • motive Now we are better able to understand their motive.
  • reason Who that has reason will listen to such a mad man?
  • movement The address was in favor of their social movement.
  • action A time will come when you will regret your action.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
causesteady
purposefalling
objectivesteady
motivesteady
reasonsteady
movementsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

2 letters
do1
3 letters
get1, aim1
4 letters
have1, make1, give1, case1, side1, mean1, goal1, draw1, suit1, sake1, root1, saki2
5 letters
bring1, drive1, basis2, raise1, breed1, beget2
6 letters
reason2, ground1, action2, source1, create2, effort2, agency3, object2, origin3, motive2, induce2
7 letters
purpose2, produce2, grounds1, trigger2, lawsuit2, genesis3, crusade2
8 letters
movement2, campaign2, occasion3, generate3, ambition3, etiology5, engender3
9 letters
objective3, intention3, principle3, incentive3, stimulate3, originate4, aetiology
10 letters
enterprise3, litigation4, aspiration4, originator5, antecedent4, inducement3
11 letters
undertaking4
13 letters
consideration5, justification5

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (saki2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
cause
Italiano
causa
Español
causa
Deutsch
Grund
Català
causa