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Asylum: alternatives and connections

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26,102 words currently have published synonym-style alternatives
90,593 searchable synonym connections
350,924 published thesaurus relationships of every type
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Asylum

A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege.

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51 useful connections shown 10 reviewed relationships and 41 broader connections.
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Reviewed alternatives and contrasts

These links were deliberately created. Use the interchangeability score and guidance to judge whether a word will work in your sentence.

Narrower term 4

Bedlam 76% connected

A place appropriated to the confinement and care of the insane; a madhouse.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a narrower or more specific lexical category.

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Harbor 76% connected

A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a narrower or more specific lexical category.

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Madhouse 76% connected

A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum; a bedlam.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a narrower or more specific lexical category.

Definition Compare both words
Sanatorium 76% connected

An establishment for the treatment of the sick; a resort for invalids. See Sanitarium.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a narrower or more specific lexical category.

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Broader term 3

Hospital 76% connected

A place for shelter or entertainment; an inn.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a broader lexical category for at least one sense.

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Infirmary 76% connected

A hospital, or place where the infirm or sick are lodged and nursed gratuitously, or where out-patients are treated.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a broader lexical category for at least one sense.

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Shelter 76% connected

That which covers or defends from injury or annoyance; a protection; a screen.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a broader lexical category for at least one sense.

Definition Compare both words

Synonym 3

Institution 92% connected

The act or process of instituting; as: (a) Establishment; foundation; enactment; as, the institution of a school.

oewn 2023 68% interchangeable

Open English WordNet places these words in at least one shared synset. They share a lexicalised sense, but context, register and collocation should still be checked before substitution.

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Refuge 92% connected

Shelter or protection from danger or distress.

oewn 2023 68% interchangeable

Open English WordNet places these words in at least one shared synset. They share a lexicalised sense, but context, register and collocation should still be checked before substitution.

Definition Compare both words
Sanctuary 92% connected

A sacred place; a consecrated spot; a holy and inviolable site.

oewn 2023 68% interchangeable

Open English WordNet places these words in at least one shared synset. They share a lexicalised sense, but context, register and collocation should still be checked before substitution.

Definition Compare both words
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Words from the same subject

These terms belong to the same specialist field or topic. They help you explore the subject, but they are not automatically synonyms.

Altar noun · 86% connection

a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Arcade noun · 86% connection

a structure composed of a series of arches supported by columns

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Arch noun · 86% connection

(architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Area noun · 86% connection

a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function; "the spacious cooking area provided plenty of room for servants"

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Arena noun · 86% connection

a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
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Balance noun · 86% connection

equality of distribution

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
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Balcony noun · 86% connection

a platform projecting from the wall of a building and surrounded by a balustrade or railing or parapet

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Bascule noun · 86% connection

a structure or device in which one end is counterbalanced by the other (on the principle of the seesaw)

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Boarding noun · 86% connection

a structure of boards

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Body noun · 86% connection

the external structure of a vehicle; "the body of the car was badly rusted"

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Bowl noun · 86% connection

a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Bridge noun · 86% connection

a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Building noun · 86% connection

a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-story building on the corne…

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Catchment noun · 86% connection

a structure in which water is collected (especially a natural drainage area)

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Coil noun · 86% connection

a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops; "a coil of rope"

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Colonnade noun · 86% connection

a structure composed of a series of arches supported by columns

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
Definition Compare
Column noun · 86% connection

a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument)

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
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Complex noun · 86% connection

a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures

Used in the same subject area: Civil engineering, Literature and rhetoric, Engineering, Literary analysis.
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Words connected by meaning

Their definitions overlap or refer to similar ideas. Use these to widen your search, then compare the exact meanings.

Alsatian noun · 78% connection

An inhabitant of Alsatia or Alsace in Germany, or of Alsatia or White Friars (a resort of debtors and criminals) in London.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Ark noun · 78% connection

The oblong chest of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, which supported the mercy seat with its golden cherubs, and occupied the most sac…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Ban noun · 78% connection

A pecuniary mulct or penalty laid upon a delinquent for offending against a ban; as, a mulct paid to a bishop by one guilty of sacrile…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Beild noun · 78% connection

A place of shelter; protection; refuge.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Booly noun · 78% connection

A company of Irish herdsmen, or a single herdsman, wandering from place to place with flocks and herds, and living on their milk, like…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Burrow noun · 78% connection

A shelter; esp. a hole in the ground made by certain animals, as rabbits, for shelter and habitation.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Compensation noun · 78% connection

The extinction of debts of which two persons are reciprocally debtors by the credits of which they are reciprocally creditors; the pay…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Convoy noun · 78% connection

A protection force accompanying ships, etc., on their way from place to place, by sea or land; an escort, for protection or guidance.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Cover noun · 78% connection

Shelter; protection; as, the troops fought under cover of the batteries; the woods afforded a good cover.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Dissection noun · 78% connection

The act of dissecting an animal or plant; as, dissection of the human body was held sacrilege till the time of Francis I.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Dugout noun · 78% connection

a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground; can be fully recessed in…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Guard noun · 78% connection

To protect from danger; to secure against surprise, attack, or injury; to keep in safety; to defend; to shelter; to shield from surpri…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
Haven noun · 78% connection

a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: sanctuary, place, refuge, protection, criminals.
Definition Compare
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