EMPLOY Synonyms: 87 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'employ' contrast with its synonyms?

The words use and utilize are common synonyms of employ . While all three words mean "to put into service especially to attain an end," employ suggests the use of a person or thing that is available but idle, inactive, or disengaged. // looking for better ways to employ their skills

Q: Where would 'use' be a reasonable alternative to 'employ'?

Although the words use and employ have much in common, use implies availing oneself of something as a means or instrument to an end. // willing to use any means to achieve her ends

Q: When is it sensible to use 'utilize' instead of 'employ'?

While the synonyms utilize and employ are close in meaning, utilize may suggest the discovery of a new, profitable, or practical use for something. // an old wooden bucket utilized as a planter

employ 1 of 2

verb

im-ˈplȯi

Definition of employ next

as in to hire

to provide with a paying job a new factory that will employ 500 people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to use

to put into action or service looking for a job in which she can employ her considerable writing skills

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

employ

2 of 2

noun

im-ˈplȯi

as in employment

the state of being provided with a paying job while you're under our employ, you can't do outside work for our competitors

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb employ contrast with its synonyms?

The words use and utilize are common synonyms of employ. While all three words mean "to put into service especially to attain an end," employ suggests the use of a person or thing that is available but idle, inactive, or disengaged.

looking for better ways to employ their skills

Where would use be a reasonable alternative to employ?

Although the words use and employ have much in common, use implies availing oneself of something as a means or instrument to an end.

willing to use any means to achieve her ends

When is it sensible to use utilize instead of employ?

While the synonyms utilize and employ are close in meaning, utilize may suggest the discovery of a new, profitable, or practical use for something.

an old wooden bucket utilized as a planter

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of employ

Verb

The city has long been unable to meet a goal set in the 1980s to employ three officers per every 1,000 residents. —

Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024 As part of these tactics, China has levied tariffs and embargoes on Taiwanese exports, sought to increase Taiwan’s international isolation, and employed disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks meant to destabilize its people and government. —

David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024

Noun

In the late forties, as the House Un-American Activities Committee launched a (largely antisemitic) hunt for Communist infiltrators in Hollywood, the moguls insulated themselves by helping to create the blacklist, which targeted many leftist Jews in their own employ. —

Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 17 July 2024 Most of those men—aside from Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, and the funky TikTok sensation Tommy Richman—employ guitars and big, gruff vocals. —

Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for employ

Recent Examples of Synonyms for employ

Verb

These companies often also hire too fast and onboard too many people, especially when revenue appears to have turned a corner.

Agur Jõgi, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Authenticity was hot, hot, hot: the Rothschilds who hired Samson had been satisfied with shiny new furniture in the style of the eighteenth century, but the robber barons adding to Asher’s fortune wanted to pad their pedigrees with originals.

Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024