Synonyms for foundation
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Base — that upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest…
ground-work, base, basis, support, fundament, substructure, underpinning, ground, footing, corner-stone, bottom, root, foot, warp and woof, understructure rare, underbuilding rare, underframework rare
2. Institution
institution, founding, beginning, creation, innovation, introduction, origin, initiation, origination, instauration rare
3. Platform — the result of the work to begin something; that which stabilizes and allows an enterprise or system to develop
Other
establishment, basic, endowment, rock, grounding, settlement, substratum, groundwall rare
Definitions
- n. 1
That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; underbuilding.
- n. 2
The result of the work to begin something; that which stabilizes and allows an enterprise or system to develop.
- n. 3
The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.
The foundation of his institute has been wrought with difficulty.
Related words
- Word family
- foundational foundationary
- Phrases
- foundation garment
Forms
- Plural
- foundations → ground-works, bases, supports, fundaments…
Example sentences
- basis He started going to the mosque on a regular basis.
- fundament "Where's Tom?" "Up his own fundament."
- institution The institution was established in the late 1960s.
- founding Algeria is a founding member of the African Union.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| foundation | steady | |
| basis | falling | |
| substructure | falling | |
| fundament | steady | |
| institution | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- base1, rock1, foot1, root1
- 5 letters
- stage1, basic2, basis2
- 6 letters
- ground1, bottom2, origin3
- 7 letters
- support2, footing2
- 8 letters
- platform2, creation3, founding2
- 9 letters
- beginning3, endowment3, grounding2, fundament
- 10 letters
- settlement3, innovation4, initiation5, substratum, groundwall
- 11 letters
- institution4, origination5
- 12 letters
- introduction4, underpinning4, substructure, instauration
- 13 letters
- establishment4, underbuilding
- 14 letters
- understructure, underframework
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (basic2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- fondation
- Italiano
- fondazione
- Español
- fundación
- Deutsch
- Einrichtung
- Català
- fundació