COGS Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

cogs

noun

plural of cog

as in underlings

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for cogs

Noun

In David’s 1996 novel Absolute Power, an American president presumes himself to be above the rule of law and seeks to force his underlings to commit criminal acts that will benefit him.

— David Baldacci, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
His Picard is authoritative, with none of the friendly push and pull with his underlings that Kirk had.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of underlings

Noun

Today, that model is shifting as personal AI assistants fundamentally alter how consumers discover products and make buying decisions.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026
Rather than simply responding to individual prompts, the next generation of coding assistants is expected to manage longer workflows, react to new information and coordinate multiple operations with limited intervention.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of assistants

Noun

No matter how powerful, dictators have always needed subordinates—censors, propagandists, security guards, police officers, intelligence analysts, and local bureaucrats—to carry out their orders.

— Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Investigators have accused one of his subordinates of running a fraud scheme, though Kravchenko himself has not been charged or named a suspect.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of subordinates

Noun

Instead, key employees billed taxpayers for air travel and hotel expenses while commuting from Denver and Texas to the Sacramento office.

— Julie Watts, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2026
Samsung has been monitoring where certain departing employees went — to signal to remaining staff that moving to competitors would be difficult — according to a former employee.

— Jenny Lee, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of employees

Noun

Surrounding yourself with a bunch of yes-men is not a recipe for success—at least according to AT&T CEO John Stankey.

— Preston Fore, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
High-profile right-wing accounts that previously served as yes-men for Musk—such as Ian Miles Cheong, a Malaysian who purportedly lives in the United Arab Emirates and posts incessant, racist drivel about American politics—have melted down over the platform’s decision to dox users.

— Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025

Definition of yes-men

Noun

Federal immigration agents have spent weeks scouring the Central Valley, immigrant rights organizers say, noting warrantless arrests and the targeting of farm laborers on their way to work.

— Cindy Carcamo, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2026
Though the inside is upscale, eclectic, cozy and polished, anyone is welcome in the space, from blue-collar laborers to lawyers, Blum said.

— Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of laborers

Noun

Parks workers who don't comply with the new policy could face discipline, officials said, adding, the policy also instructs them to not engage in any verbal or physical altercations with ICE agents.

— Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
People who earn at least 50,000 pounds ($67,000) a year will only have to wait five years, as will public-sector workers including doctors, nurses and teachers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of workers

Noun

The skydivers — including Rutz — jumped from a plane and held each other’s hands Friday morning.

— Iris Kwok Follow Nov. 6, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
In the right hands, there’s a hell of a lot that can be done with two men, some first-rate banter, and a historical flashpoint that eerily resonates with our current need for a reckoning about American adventures abroad.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of hands

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“Cogs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cogs. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of cogs

noun

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