Synonyms of knots

knots 1 of 2

noun

plural of knot

1

as in clusters

a number of things considered as a unit

from the summit we could see knots of houses up and down the river valley

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clusters
• batches
• bunches
• constellations
• arrays
• clumps
• groupings
• groups
• collections
• assemblages
• lots
• packages
• batteries
• sets
• blocks
• assortments
• clutches
• bands
• varieties
• banks
• clots
• series
• mixtures
• suites
• parcels
• accumulations
• jumbles
• aggregations
• aggregates
• passels
• the whole kit and caboodle
• huddles
• musters
• suits
• agglomerations
• runs
• conglomerations
• sundries
• odds and ends
• cycles
• hodgepodges
• miscellanies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• units
• items
• entities
• singles

2

as in swellings

a small rounded mass of swollen tissue

felt a small knot on the back of his head

Synonyms & Similar Words

• swellings
• lumps
• nodules
• bruises
• bumps
• nodes
• tumors
• growths
• blisters
• welts
• contusions
• warts
• humps
• clumps
• boils
• hunches
• chunks
• knobs
• hunks
• blobs
• wads
• gobs
• nubs
• clods
• gobbets
• nuggets
• nubbles

3

as in links

a uniting or binding force or influence

their business partnership is strengthened by the knot of personal friendship

Synonyms & Similar Words

• links
• bonds
• ties
• cords
• connections
• ligatures
• linkages
• cements
• fastenings
• attachments
• yokes
• sympathies
• joints
• hookups
• unions
• shackles
• handcuffs
• restraints
• manacles
• limits
• trammels
• constraints
• fetters
• tie-ups
• restrictions
• linkups
• affections
• nexuses
• limitations
• curbs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• separations
• partings
• freedoms
• releases
• liberations
• emancipations

4

as in groupings

a usually small number of persons considered as a unit

knots of people were quietly chatting around the meeting hall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• groupings
• groups
• batches
• bunches
• clusters
• bands
• lots
• crops
• clutches
• constellations
• crews
• circles
• batteries
• arrays
• teams
• bodies
• platoons
• squadrons
• consorts
• parcels
• parties
• battalions
• schools
• boodles
• organizations
• rounds
• collectives
• gatherings
• passels
• the whole kit and caboodle
• brigades
• congregations
• huddles
• cliques
• rings
• guilds
• gangs
• factions
• sects
• clans
• task forces
• posses
• assemblies
• outfits
• sets
• coteries
• fellowships
• federations
• unions
• blocs
• musters
• confederacies
• alliances
• leagues
• coalitions
• phalanxes
• broods
• confederations
• orders
• coveys
• bevies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• individuals
• singles

5

as in problems

something that requires thought and skill for resolution

the situation involved so many legal knots that we decided to get a lawyer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• problems
• challenges
• matters
• issues
• cases
• troubles
• nuts
• questions
• predicaments
• snags
• jams
• pickles
• holes
• corners
• Gordian knots
• hot waters
• spots
• dilemmas
• quagmires
• cruxes
• hitches
• puzzles
• fixes
• riddles
• mysteries
• mires
• glitches
• quandaries
• enigmas
• toughies
• conundrums
• catches
• pitfalls
• puzzlements
• sticky wickets
• stumpers
• brainteasers
• posers
• catch-22's

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• solutions
• answers
• silver bullets
• magic bullets
• panaceas
• cure-alls

knots

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of knot

as in tangles

to twist together into a usually confused mass

the extension cords were hopelessly knotted together

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tangles
• snarls
• jumbles
• weaves
• intertwines
• entangles
• braids
• interlaces
• winds
• interweaves
• plaits
• twines
• scrambles
• intertwists
• scrabbles
• writhes
• entwines
• enlaces
• inweaves
• wreathes
• entwists

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• untwists
• untangles
• disentangles
• unravels
• unknots
• untwines
• unscrambles
• unsnarls
• unweaves

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of knots

Noun

The Senate is in knots over a bill that would try to regulate college football’s billion-dollar economy. — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

But athletics didn’t tie itself in knots trying to produce a detente. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

The two side ropes also nod to the marine world, with traditional nautical knots at the center. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 4 Sep. 2026

The earlier design specifies speeds approaching 16 knots (18 mph/30 km/h). — New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026

Investigators looked at the last data point, which showed the plane was headed south at about 21,900 feet above sea level, traveling 256 knots. — Saleen Martin, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026

What Assange wanted was not a system hardened against attacks, but one tied in knots, hopelessly conflicted and filled with suspicion, denunciations, and purges. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

The line shuffles forward quickly, and my heart knots in my chest as Heartfillers are dosed to each person up ahead. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026

The Very Large Crude Carrier – the largest oil tanker class, stretching over 1,000 feet – maintained a steady pace of 13 knots across the Persian Gulf, near its top speed. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Verb

No matter how many knots a lawyer ties themselves in to get there, legality is not legitimacy. — Jon Duffy, Mercury News, 29 Nov. 2025

Stories like these usually lurch from one contrivance and complication to the next, but Chad Powers knots itself into a genuinely thorny conflict by the finale. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025