EN

Synonyms for movement

26 synonyms
5 antonyms
4 meanings

noun

Most common

motion move action operation cause campaign drift social movement

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Motion

motion, move, action, operation, maneuver US, manoeuvre UK, play, motility, act, removal, travel

2. Cause

cause, campaign, effort, crusade, drive

3. Drift

4. Social movement

social movement, front

Other

bowel movement, locomotion, set, stir, strain, bm

Antonyms

stasis, fixation, standstill

All antonyms of movement →

Definitions

n. 1
Physical motion between points in space.
I saw a movement in that grass on the hill.
n. 2
A system or mechanism for transmitting motion of a definite character, or for transforming motion, such as the wheelwork of a watch.
n. 3
The impression of motion in an artwork, painting, novel etc.
n. 4
A trend in various fields or social categories, a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals.
The labor movement has been struggling in America since the passage of the Taft-Hartley act in 1947.

Related words

Phrases: bowel movement social movement movement control order pincer movement rapid eye movement streaming movement

Forms

Plural: movements → motions, moves, actions, operations…

Choose the right word

or Movement?

Motion expresses a general idea of not being at rest; movement is oftener used to express a definite, regulated motion, esp. a progress.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example sentences

action A time will come when you will regret your action.
motion Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
motility Sperm motility is one of the things tested in a semen analysis.
cause We will first ascertain the cause of the disaster.
effort A little more effort, and you will get on in life.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
movement		steady
action		falling
motion		falling
motility		steady
cause		steady
effort		falling

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

By length

2 letters: bm
3 letters: set¹, act¹
4 letters: play¹, move¹, stir¹
5 letters: cause¹, front¹, drive¹, trend¹, drift¹
6 letters: action², travel², effort², motion², strain¹
7 letters: removal³, crusade²
8 letters: campaign², maneuver³, motility⁴
9 letters: operation⁴, manoeuvre
10 letters: locomotion⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (action² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: mouvement
Italiano: movimento
Español: movimiento
Deutsch: Bewegung
Català: moviment