Synonyms of compasses

compasses 1 of 2

noun

plural of compass

1

as in directions

a guiding or motivating purpose or principle

a young go-getter who lost his moral compass in the course of his quest for fame and fortune

Synonyms & Similar Words

• directions
• foci
• purposes
• lodestars
• objects
• standards
• goals
• objectives
• intentions
• measures
• polestars
• ambitions
• touchstones
• cynosures
• criteria
• benchmarks
• yardsticks
• grades
• pars
• aspirations
• targets
• dreams
• aims
• marks

2

as in scopes

an area over which activity, capacity, or influence extends

within the compass of my voice

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scopes
• realms
• confines
• extents
• ranges
• dimensions
• widths
• amplitudes
• circles
• sweeps
• reaches
• spheres
• elements
• breadths
• ambits
• domains
• spectra
• departments
• provinces
• regions
• disciplines
• specialties
• frontiers
• fields
• fiefs
• terrains
• bailiwicks
• horizons
• gamuts
• spreads
• fiefdoms
• panoramas
• demesnes

3

as in edges

the line or relatively narrow space that marks the outer limit of something

within the compass of the city walls

Synonyms & Similar Words

• edges
• perimeters
• circumferences
• edgings
• boundaries
• borders
• confines
• margins
• skirts
• rims
• brims
• frames
• peripheries
• bounds
• hems
• verges
• ends
• fringes
• cusps
• outskirts
• borderlines
• skirtings
• crests
• lips
• demarcations
• extents
• measures
• curbs
• limitations
• brinks
• frontiers
• shores
• ceilings
• restrictions
• maxima
• marches
• borderlands
• ambits
• laps
• terminations
• meres
• selvages
• pales

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• centers
• hearts
• cores
• insides
• interiors
• middles
• inners
• withins

compasses

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of compass

1

as in implements

to carry through (as a process) to completion

attempting more than his modest abilities could compass

Synonyms & Similar Words

• implements
• fulfills
• accomplishes
• performs
• does
• achieves
• makes
• executes
• carries out
• carries off
• goes through
• pulls off
• brings off
• practices
• follows through (with)
• prosecutes
• effects
• brings about
• puts through
• commits
• negotiates
• nails
• realizes
• completes
• finishes
• aces
• works (at)
• perpetrates
• engages (in)
• winds up
• ends
• effectuates
• attains
• repeats
• reduplicates
• actualizes
• reenacts

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fails
• slurs
• slights
• skimps

2

as in circles

to travel completely around

the great age of exploration, when ships of sail compassed the earth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• circles
• orbits
• circuits
• rings
• traverses
• crosses
• encircles
• rounds
• girdles
• circumnavigates
• circumvents
• circumambulates
• perambulates

3

as in plots

to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends

the rebels are compassing the assassination of the king

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plots
• schemes
• plans
• intrigues
• engineers
• colludes
• maps
• connives
• conspires
• contrives
• devises
• machinates
• designs
• hatches
• maneuvers
• puts up
• cooks (up)
• shapes
• brews
• counterplots
• concocts
• manipulates
• jockeys
• frames
• lays out

4

as in surrounds

to form a circle around

a mysterious isle, compassed by treacherous seas

Synonyms & Similar Words

• surrounds
• circles
• rings
• encircles
• girdles
• encompasses
• environs
• walls
• girds
• wreathes
• encloses
• embraces
• circumscribes
• fences (in)
• closes in
• swarms
• hems (in)
• besets
• cordons (off)
• besieges
• entrenches
• invests

5

as in knows

to have a clear idea of

the concept that the earth is billions of years old is one that the average mind struggles to compass

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knows
• senses
• understands
• deciphers
• recognizes
• comprehends
• sees
• grasps
• appreciates
• twigs
• gets
• registers
• tumbles (to)
• discerns
• realizes
• intuits
• apprehends
• catches on (to)
• perceives
• makes
• digs
• conceives
• savvies
• makes out
• seizes
• cottons (to or on to)
• picks up on
• beholds
• catches
• assimilates
• cognizes
• decodes
• fathoms
• groks
• takes in
• digests
• absorbs
• penetrates
• pierces

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• misses
• mistakes
• misreads
• misconceives
• misunderstands
• misinterprets
• misconstrues
• misperceives
• misapprehends

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of compasses

Noun

Think vintage navy portholes, ship compasses, and aircraft fuselage. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 9 Sep. 2026

The prevailing motifs include Anglo-American boarding schools and college campuses, accoutrements with a romantic aura (billowing sleeves, melting candles), and analog artifacts (old compasses, monocles). — Sophia Zhang, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 July 2026

So many role-playing games spoonfeed you with compasses and waypoints and fourth-wall-breaking warnings. — Alex James Kane, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026

As for steering a buggy to the Artemis base, compasses don’t work on the moon, and dust will adhere to optics, so NASA has pioneered plans to use Earth’s Galileo and GPS satellites to navigate. — Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 11 May 2026

Pilots learn to navigate using maps and compasses, as well as natural cues such as stars and terrain features including rivers, bridges and other landmarks to orient themselves and move toward friendly forces. — Luis Martinez, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026

Likewise, this administration has demonstrated a talent for sudden pivots — foreign policy statements that change overnight, budget proposals that evaporate by morning, and messaging that suggests the communications team may be using different maps, compasses and time zones. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 17 Feb. 2026

In ordinary magnetic materials, unpaired electrons behave like tiny compasses and eventually align with one another. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 18 Jan. 2026

Over 1,000 years ago, explorers began using compasses, typically made with a floating cork or piece of wood with a magnetized needle in it, to find their way. — Scott Brame, The Conversation, 16 Dec. 2025