Synonym Chooser

How does the verb execute contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of execute are accomplish, achieve, discharge, effect, fulfill, and perform. While all these words mean "to carry out or into effect," execute stresses the carrying out of what exists in plan or in intent.

executed the hit-and-run

When is it sensible to use accomplish instead of execute?

While in some cases nearly identical to execute, accomplish stresses the successful completion of a process rather than the means of carrying it out.

accomplished everything they set out to do

How do achieve and accomplish relate to one another, in the sense of execute?

Achieve adds to accomplish the implication of conquered difficulties.

achieve greatness

When is discharge a more appropriate choice than execute?

The words discharge and execute are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, discharge implies execution and completion of appointed duties or tasks.

discharged his duties

How are the words effect and achieve related as synonyms of execute?

Effect adds to achieve an emphasis on the inherent force in the agent capable of surmounting obstacles.

effected sweeping reforms

In what contexts can fulfill take the place of execute?

The synonyms fulfill and execute are sometimes interchangeable, but fulfill implies a complete realization of ends or possibilities.

fulfilled their ambitions

When might perform be a better fit than execute?

While the synonyms perform and execute are close in meaning, perform implies action that follows established patterns or procedures or fulfills agreed-upon requirements and often connotes special skill.

performed gymnastics

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 execute Florida has executed more people this year than any other state, with 9 after an execution in July. Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2025 If executed well, this kind of approach can reduce systemic risk and improve cyber resilience at scale. Vishaal Hariprasad, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025 Much has been made of the challenge of finding the younger actors to execute some very tricky dramatic scenes, and rightly so. Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2025 The agency then intends to select up to two development teams and execute pre-development agreements by Feb. 27, 2026. Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for execute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for execute
Verb
  • On the hiring front, the money was intended for 10,000 new staff who specifically enforce immigration law within the United States.
    Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Earlier in May, the agency began enforcing REAL ID at checkpoints, achieving a 94 percent compliance rate and helping to speed up the security screening process.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • When culture starts performing alignment instead of living it, most companies reach for fixes: tighter messaging, new values, more playbooks.
    Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
  • For her 2005 tour, Kylie Minogue performed at least four songs in a leotard dripping in crystals, a giant feather bustle and an enormous feather headdress.
    Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Only five years earlier, Hill had rescued Jacqueline Kennedy in a moving limousine after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a Dallas motorcade.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2025
  • In 1983, the United States invaded the island after its young socialist leader, Maurice Bishop was assassinated, along with a dozen others, by his own comrades.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Alonso and his collaborators wanted to implement a method in which the players showed more intensity in training.
    Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
  • The arrest has raised questions about how DJS handles youth crime, especially as the agency, under acting director Betsy Fox Tolentino, implements changes.
    Keith Daniels, Baltimore Sun, 16 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The two had become friends, but police arrested Knox and charged her with murdering Kercher.
    Erin Jensen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
  • As teenagers, they were convicted of murdering three 8-year-old boys, allegedly as part of Satanic rites.
    Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • An additional three people have been slain this year in the 101st Precinct, which covers Far Rockaway from Beach 59th St. east to the Long Island border.
    Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Earlier this year, inmates Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage and Donald Lashley were slain at the prison.
    Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The property also has two pools, a tennis court and a $1 million geothermal heating system and concealed solar field, which allows the estate to fulfill its own energy needs.
    Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Observers say Trump's desire for the Nobel Peace Prize looms large over the summit with Putin, as the president looks to fulfill a campaign promise to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
    Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • All of those fatal wrecks came after a weekend head-on crash on Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek killed a 16-year-old Mount Diablo High student.
    Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Ukraine launched an attack on Russia on Thursday, killing at least one person and injuring over a dozen more — a day before the high-stakes meeting between Trump and Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.
    Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 16 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Execute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/execute. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.

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