Synonyms of calling

calling 1 of 2

noun

ˈkȯ-liŋ 

1

as in cancellation

the act of putting an end to something planned or previously agreed to

the calling of the match was a disappointment to both players

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cancellation
• repeal
• abandonment
• abolition
• revocation
• dropping
• abortion
• rescission
• recall
• ending
• stopping
• calling off
• recision
• termination
• surrender
• neutralization
• halting
• invalidation
• nullification
• annulment
• abolishment
• reversal
• relinquishment
• rollback
• voidance
• giving up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continuation
• beginning
• initiation
• engagement
• undertaking
• commencement

2

as in profession

the activity by which one regularly makes a living

I think my true calling will be as a commercial artist

Synonyms & Similar Words

• profession
• work
• occupation
• vocation
• line
• employment
• trade
• call
• game
• job
• lay
• duty
• mission
• living
• task
• business
• position
• assignment
• place
• office
• art
• livelihood
• enterprise
• engagement
• field
• function
• racket
• situation
• lifework
• appointment
• post
• gig
• load
• craft
• métier
• workload
• handicraft
• handcraft
• billet
• berth

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pursuit
• hobby
• avocation

calling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of call

1

as in shouting

to speak so as to be heard at a distance

we could hear someone calling for help from the other side of the wall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shouting
• yelling
• crying
• hollering
• screaming
• bellowing
• thundering
• bawling
• vociferating
• baying
• roaring
• holloing
• screeching
• shrieking
• sounding off
• whooping
• shrilling
• hailing
• squeaking
• crowing
• howling
• wailing
• speaking out
• squealing
• yawping
• yowling
• ululating
• caterwauling
• speaking up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• whispering
• breathing
• muttering
• murmuring
• mumbling

2

as in dialing

to make a telephone call to

use this cell phone to call me if there's an emergency

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dialing
• phoning
• telephoning
• ringing (up)
• beeping
• buzzing
• calling in
• cold-calling

3

as in visiting

to make a brief visit

the hospital posts the hours during which friends and relatives may call

Synonyms & Similar Words

• visiting
• seeing
• running (over)
• stopping (by or in)
• coming over
• running in
• dropping in
• popping (in)
• stepping in
• coming by
• dropping by
• haunting
• looking up
• happening (by)
• frequenting
• hanging (at)
• resorting (to)
• barging (in)
• bopping (into)

4

as in canceling

to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to)

the game was called on account of rain

Synonyms & Similar Words

• canceling
• abandoning
• scrapping
• revoking
• aborting
• repealing
• recalling
• rescinding
• scrubbing
• dropping
• withdrawing
• terminating
• suspending
• calling off
• reversing
• interrupting
• halting
• ending
• stopping
• invalidating
• retracting
• nullifying
• crying off
• abrogating
• annulling
• discontinuing
• voiding
• writing off
• recanting
• taking back
• relinquishing
• rolling back
• countermanding
• holding back
• breaking off
• surrendering
• giving up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continuing
• keeping
• starting
• beginning
• engaging
• initiating
• promising
• commencing
• pledging
• undertaking
• taking up
• taking on

5

as in considering

to think of in a particular way

I wouldn't quite call that cheating, but it's not entirely ethical either

Synonyms & Similar Words

• considering
• regarding
• viewing
• counting
• believing
• thinking
• holding
• looking (on or upon)
• accounting
• feeling
• rating
• imagining
• taking for
• deeming
• reckoning
• setting down
• sensing
• esteeming
• conceiving
• fancying

6

as in crying

to utter one's distinctive animal sound

the dog called whenever it flushed a quail

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crying
• singing

7

as in summoning

to bring together in assembly by or as if by command

called all the night workers in for a meeting

Synonyms & Similar Words

• summoning
• mustering
• assembling
• convening
• convoking
• rallying
• gathering
• calling out
• calling up
• grouping
• calling in
• collecting
• amassing
• reassembling
• knelling
• reconvening
• rounding up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dissolving
• breaking up

8

as in estimating

to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement

let's call that five feet for now, and we'll measure it out later

Synonyms & Similar Words

• estimating
• calculating
• making
• figuring
• putting
• guessing
• gauging
• supposing
• judging
• placing
• reckoning
• conjecturing
• concluding
• understanding
• inferring
• reasoning
• gathering
• extrapolating
• deducing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• measuring
• scaling
• calibrating
• computing
• working out

9

as in asking

to demand or request the presence or service of

rushed to call a tow truck operator when the car broke down

Synonyms & Similar Words

• summoning
• asking
• hailing
• inviting
• requesting
• sending for
• ordering
• citing
• invoking
• beckoning
• ringing
• calling out
• convening
• assembling
• demanding
• calling up
• bidding
• subpoenaing
• mustering
• whistling
• convoking
• requisitioning
• buzzing
• commanding
• paging
• knelling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dismissing
• sending (away)
• turning away
• routing
• banishing
• expelling
• ejecting
• ousting
• casting out
• running off
• drumming (out)
• outing
• kicking out
• throwing out
• booting (out)
• turfing (out)

10

as in naming

to give a name to

we've decided to call the kitten "Molly"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• naming
• dubbing
• labeling
• terming
• nominating
• designating
• nicknaming
• entitling
• titling
• specifying
• denominating
• baptizing
• styling
• christening
• cleping
• denoting
• renaming
• branding
• stigmatizing
• tagging
• misnaming
• relabeling
• miscalling
• rechristening
• mistitling
• code-naming
• surnaming

11

as in ordering

to request the doing of by virtue of one's authority

the union president is refusing to call a strike

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ordering
• requesting
• asking
• mandating
• requiring
• dictating
• demanding
• calling for
• directing
• decreeing
• petitioning
• commanding
• ordaining

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• canceling
• rescinding
• countermanding

12

as in predicting

to tell of or describe beforehand

somehow the political pundit called the race results within a mere percentage point

Synonyms & Similar Words

• predicting
• reading
• announcing
• warning
• anticipating
• forecasting
• prophesying
• foretelling
• presaging
• prognosticating
• auguring
• alerting
• vaticinating
• cautioning
• foreseeing
• promising
• proclaiming
• forewarning
• declaring
• divining
• portending
• foreboding
• boding
• heralding
• foreknowing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• relating
• describing
• reporting
• telling
• reciting
• recounting
• narrating

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun calling differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of calling are business, employment, métier, occupation, pursuit, and work. While all these words mean "a specific sustained activity engaged in especially in earning one's living," calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession.

the ministry seemed my true calling

Where would business be a reasonable alternative to calling?

While in some cases nearly identical to calling, business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs.

the business of managing a hotel

In what contexts can employment take the place of calling?

The words employment and calling can be used in similar contexts, but employment implies work for which one has been engaged and is being paid by an employer.

your employment with this firm is hereby terminated

When might métier be a better fit than calling?

The synonyms métier and calling are sometimes interchangeable, but métier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be especially fitted.

acting was my one and only métier

When can occupation be used instead of calling?

The meanings of occupation and calling largely overlap; however, occupation implies work in which one engages regularly especially as a result of training.

his occupation as a trained auto mechanic

When is it sensible to use pursuit instead of calling?

Although the words pursuit and calling have much in common, pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest.

her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit

When would work be a good substitute for calling?

While the synonyms work and calling are close in meaning, work may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not.

her work as a hospital volunteer

How does the noun calling differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of calling are business, employment, métier, occupation, pursuit, and work. While all these words mean "a specific sustained activity engaged in especially in earning one's living," calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession.

the ministry seemed my true calling

Where would business be a reasonable alternative to calling?

While in some cases nearly identical to calling, business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs.

the business of managing a hotel

In what contexts can employment take the place of calling?

The words employment and calling can be used in similar contexts, but employment implies work for which one has been engaged and is being paid by an employer.

your employment with this firm is hereby terminated

When might métier be a better fit than calling?

The synonyms métier and calling are sometimes interchangeable, but métier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be especially fitted.

acting was my one and only métier

When can occupation be used instead of calling?

The meanings of occupation and calling largely overlap; however, occupation implies work in which one engages regularly especially as a result of training.

his occupation as a trained auto mechanic

When is it sensible to use pursuit instead of calling?

Although the words pursuit and calling have much in common, pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest.

her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit

When would work be a good substitute for calling?

While the synonyms work and calling are close in meaning, work may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not.

her work as a hospital volunteer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of calling

Noun

Three of them stayed together, but the fourth couldn’t resist Bergeron’s imitation of a hen turkey calling and branched off, coming within 20 yards of the blind. —Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026

In the same way Claudius suggests Hamlet must move on because the kingdom needs governance, Shakespeare insists on getting back to work to fulfill his artistic calling, provide for his family and, in a surprising twist, grieve his son. —Jeanette Tran, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026

Verb

Barbara spent the first week of February calling hospitals. —Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2026

Michigan and Kentucky came calling, engaging him in multiple Zoom calls. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026

Phrases Containing calling

• calling off