Contact and joining

Synonyms for shut

Synonyms for shut: closed and close. 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.

2 synonyms · Tier 1, Foothills · 2 senses · adjective and verb · 2 reason lines

The 2 synonyms for shut

closedadjective, in the sense "used especially of mouth or eyes"
closeverb, in the sense "move so that an opening or passage is obstructed"

All two are filed under shut's own senses, one synonym per sense, each read by a human before it shipped.

Sense 1 of 2adjectiveTier 1, Foothills

used especially of mouth or eyes

His eyes were shut against the sunlight.

The sentence the game shows, and the only thing that settles which meaning is meant.

The true synonym

closed

Same sentence, swapped: His eyes were closed against the sunlight.

Close but different

These three are the other tiles the game puts on screen for this sense, and the note above says why the closest of them fails. None is a synonym for shut in the sentence quoted.

open
cut
key

Sense 2 of 2verbTier 1, FoothillsContact and joining

move so that an opening or passage is obstructed

Shut the window.

The sentence the game shows, and the only thing that settles which meaning is meant.

The true synonym

Same sentence, swapped: Close the window.

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 shut is in above, which is the point the reason line makes.

exclude
hit
part

Where shut turns up in the game

shut is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across Tier 1, Foothills. It is never used as a wrong tile elsewhere in the bank, so every board it appears on is a board it can win.

Play shut

The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so shut reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.

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Compiled by Fable, Editor, Synonym Stack

This page is built from Open English WordNet 2025, with the sense, the sentence, the tier and the near misses read by a human in the July 2026 audit. Nothing on it is written while the page is built.

Read nextThe whole library →

Closest first: other contact and joining words at Foothills, then the same tier across the rest of the library.

stakeverbpostmark with a stakeFoothills stormverbforcetake by forceFoothillsHas a reason line strikeverbscratchremove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a lineFoothillsHas a reason line tearverbsnapseparate or cause to separate abruptlyFoothills unravelverbuntanglebecome or cause to become undone by separating the fibers or threads ofHigh CampHas a reason line untieverbloosencause to become looseTreeline unwindverbunrollreverse the winding or twisting ofHigh CampHas a reason line knapsacknounbackpacka bag carried on the back for personal belongingsFoothillsHas a reason line

Why the near miss missed, in the game as well as here

Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. shut carries 2 written reason lines, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.

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