Thinking and knowing
Synonyms for focus
Synonyms for focus: concentrate, sharpen and direction. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.
The 3 synonyms for focus
Interchangeable with focus, one per sense
Audited under focus's own entry, so the meaning quoted is the one focus carries in that sense.
- concentrateverb, in the sense "direct one's attention on something"
- sharpenverb, in the sense "put (an image) into focus"
Recorded from the other side of the pair
These entries were written under the other word and name focus as the true synonym, so the sense quoted is theirs.
- directiondirection is a noun in the sense "the concentration of attention or energy on something"
two of these come from focus's own entries in the bank, and one was audited from the other word's side of the pair. Both directions were read by a human, and only the sense quoted differs.
direct one's attention on something
Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies.
focus in 2 more sentences, same sense
- The coach told the players to focus on their footwork during the final quarter of the match.
- In the kitchen, the chef asked the apprentice to focus on the sauce instead of the bread.
How it behaves: In this sense, focus is typically used intransitively with the preposition 'on' introducing the object of attention, as in 'focus on the report.'
The true synonym
concentrate
Same sentence, swapped: Please concentrate on your studies and not on your hobbies.
Close but different
Wrong tiles, chosen to be tempting rather than absurd. The reason line above takes the nearest one apart; the rest fail the same sentence for their own reasons.
- block
- consider
- flower
Opposites, in this sense
wander, digress and ignore reverse focus as it is used in the sentence above. A different sense of focus takes different opposites, which is why these sit inside the sense and not at the top of the page.
- wander
- digress
- ignore
put (an image) into focus
Please focus the image: we cannot enjoy the movie.
The true synonym
sharpen
Same sentence, swapped: Please sharpen the image: we cannot enjoy the movie.
Close but different
The game shows these three beside the answer. Each is a real word with a real meaning and none of them fits the slot focus is in above, which is the point the reason line makes.
- center
- blur
- zero
Where focus turns up in the game
focus is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across two difficulty tiers. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in six other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.
4 of the 6 puzzles where focus is the trap
- matchverb, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is fit, in the sense "make correspond or harmonize", so focus is there to be ruled out.
- sourcenoun, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is beginning, in the sense "the place where something begins, where it springs into being", so focus is there to be ruled out.
- directionnoun, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is guidance, in the sense "the act of setting and holding a course", so focus is there to be ruled out.
- stressnoun, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is strain, in the sense "difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension", and focus is one of the three tiles that lose.
Play focus
The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so focus reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.
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The ring widens as it goes, from thinking and knowing at Foothills outward to the whole bank.
A reason under every answer, not just a right answer
Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. focus carries 2 written reason lines, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.