SHAFTS Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

shafts

noun

plural of shaft

as in beams

a narrow sharply defined line of light radiating from an object shafts of late-afternoon sunlight pierced the blinds and streaked the floor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in spears

a weapon with a long straight handle and sharp head or blade the footmen set their shafts so as to form a bank of steel against the enemy's charging cavalry

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in injustices

unfair or inadequate treatment of someone or something or an instance of this the homeowners who were bought out are convinced they got the shaft in that deal

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 shafts Workers then lower these containers into bedrock shafts, surrounding them with swellable bentonite clay to absorb moisture and block movement. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026 The official said that the collapse began on Sunday in one of the mine shafts and spread to the other interconnected shafts. — Yasir Abdallah, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026 The Tour Edge, designed for players with regular swing speeds, comes your choice of three Fujikura Ventus golf shafts. — Langston Wertz Jr, Charlotte Observer, 16 Sep. 2026 And via roomy leg openings, the jeans easily fit over most boots without bunching up around their shafts. — Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2026 Ankle boots are generally easier to store since their shorter shafts are less likely to collapse. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 2 Sep. 2026 Having seen the shift from hickory to metal shafts, Flynn was also ahead of his time in his ability to foresee a distance problem in golf, an issue the professional game plans to address with a ball rollback in 2028. — Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 16 June 2026 Upgrades will require significant reinforcement of some walls and elevator shafts, though engineers have found ways to do the work by pouring new concrete footings and installing additional steel bracing without significantly impinging on internal spaces or being visible on exterior surfaces. — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 The mine shafts oblige them generously, particularly after a bender or a jilting. — Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shafts

Noun

At its heart, the greatest album of all time beams with try-hard enthusiasm for popcraft—but don’t try telling Stel that.

— Walden Green, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
These cataclysmic explosions spray intense radiation and beams of energy through the universe at close to the speed of light.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of beams

Noun

Each is almost seven by five feet, and most establish a broad field of color—blue, crimson, orange—across which migrate sharp and irregular shapes, some like long teeth or spears, others like shards of obsidian.

— Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
Spears and a club The team found a pointed stick and two spears lying close to the antlered skulls of red deer.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of spears

Noun

Related Stories Lee says the film grew out of the small and large injustices people tolerate every day to avoid a fight.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
A certain ingenuousness, an earnest impatience with the world’s many injustices, is a hallmark of Barbara Kingsolver’s novels.

— Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of injustices

Noun

For many years people believed that light was made out of particles flying in straight rays.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Finally, the wind seemed to permanently lie down, though storm clouds still haunted the horizon, forcing the sunset to squeeze beneath them, its rays condensed into a lurid, painterly slash.

— Heidi Julavits, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of rays

Noun

Humans have been throwing javelins for a few hundred thousand years, yet performance has largely plateaued.

— R. Alexander Bentley, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
The Tofinu took refuge in the lagoons along the Bight of Benin, a core area of the slave trade, venturing forth in canoes with harpoons, javelins, and swords to fight off raiders from powerful nearby kingdoms.

— Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026

Definition of javelins

Noun

Pittsburgh’s late arrival in Paris and injuries elsewhere are concerns, but the rushing and defensive advantages outweigh them at this number.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Officers found an unconscious adult man who was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

— Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of injuries

Browse Nearby Words

shaft

shafts

shag

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Shafts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shafts. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of shafts

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

disparate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes