1
as in certificate
a written or printed paper giving information about or proof of something a valid will is a legal instrument

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
3
4
as in pawn
one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another the claim that the scientists are mere instruments of the tobacco companies, who pay them to produce findings that are highly suspect

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word instrument different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of instrument are appliance, implement, tool, and utensil. While all these words mean "a relatively simple device for performing work," instrument suggests a device capable of delicate or precise work.

the dentist's instruments

When can appliance be used instead of instrument?

The words appliance and instrument can be used in similar contexts, but appliance refers to a tool or instrument utilizing a power source and suggests portability or temporary attachment.

household appliances

When could implement be used to replace instrument?

While the synonyms implement and instrument are close in meaning, implement may apply to anything necessary to perform a task.

crude stone implements
farm implements

How are the words tool and implement related as synonyms of instrument?

Tool suggests an implement adapted to facilitate a definite kind or stage of work and suggests the need of skill more strongly than implement.

a carpenter's tools

When is utensil a more appropriate choice than instrument?

The synonyms utensil and instrument are sometimes interchangeable, but utensil applies to a device used in domestic work or some routine unskilled activity.

kitchen utensils

Example 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 instrument The process is like learning an instrument. James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025 An associate scientist at the University of Miami, Hazelton was processing the data flowing in from the weather instruments being dropped into the storm. Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025 Across the street from the temple, a sprawl of vendors sold clothing, jewelry, toys, fabric and instruments. Annika Merrilees, Sacbee.com, 2 Nov. 2025 Once used by shepherds to call cows from the pastures, the long, conical instruments are now used in folk music, brought out for celebrations. Lucy Kehoe, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for instrument
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instrument
Noun
  • Fledgling entrepreneurs fell over each other to position themselves as the vendors of the newest, hottest, most effective, most trustworthy certificates of removed CO2.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Farzam has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University, Northridge, and a certificate and associate degree in emergency medical technology/paramedic from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California.
    Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Microsoft unveiled a new category of PC that features generative artificial intelligence tools built into Windows, the company's world-leading operating system.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025
  • When selecting a specific use case to pursue, Pantone considered the struggles its customers had previously brought to the company’s attention and surveyed other tools on the market for designers and creatives.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • They are left wielding the tools of instrumentality: in-groups and cliques, buying effort through more money, coercive employment agreements and suits against whistleblowers.
    Dave Winsborough, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
  • Holding the weight of cotton’s influence on the world, and thus the instrumentality of Black labor, is painful, yet necessary work.
    Cierra Black, Essence, 9 July 2025
Noun
  • Where the film succeeds is in its depiction of John and Greta as pawns of larger societal forces.
    Sarah Weinman, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Some pawn shop owners are watching the disbursement of SNAP benefits closely, said Clay Baron, owner of Dave’s A Pawnshop in downtown El Paso, Texas.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The countries that have a Baltic coastline today, excluding Russia, could agree to a new treaty requiring ships to meet certain standards of insurance and certification to be allowed to navigate the Baltic—for example, on grounds of ecological protection.
    Jack Watling, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2025
  • During the investigation, the AG’s office confirmed the nurses who were forced to make these training repayments only received the typical on-the-job training and did not gain a portable credential or standalone certification.
    Lauren Giella, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Moffett is the author of two short story collections, as well as The Silent History, a narrative app for mobile devices.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The show leans into this offensive, problematic plot device without any self-awareness.
    Tom Smyth, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The problem is that the objective optimized by the algorithm is good for the people who control the means of prediction…but not good for the rest of society.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Then Vice President Cheney condemned those behind the torture scandal, while at the same time defending water-boarding as a useful means of extracting vital intelligence (many intelligence experts say water-boarding is torture, and its victims will say anything to avoid further abuse).
    Ben Wedeman, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • In addition to WeRide and Pony AI, Baidu is also expanding its robotaxi offerings through its Apollo Go vehicles.
    Sydney Lake, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to account for sudden stops or changes in the traffic pattern.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 6 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Instrument.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instrument. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.

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