Synonyms of shifts

shifts 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of shift

1

as in moves

to change the place or position of

he shifted the vase closer to the wall so that it wouldn't get knocked over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• moves
• relocates
• transfers
• removes
• transports
• disturbs
• transposes
• displaces
• conveys
• repositions
• replaces
• carries
• hauls
• dislocates
• drives
• budges
• transmits
• alters
• transplants
• varies
• modifies
• carts
• supersedes
• lugs
• supplants
• revises
• reworks
• bears
• totes
• remakes
• makes over
• remodels
• revamps
• refashions
• redoes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sets
• stabilizes
• freezes
• fixes
• secures
• anchors
• roots
• embeds
• moors
• lodges
• implants
• entrenches
• ingrains

2

as in twitches

to change one's position

she shifted uncomfortably in her seat throughout the interview

Synonyms & Similar Words

• moves
• twitches
• squirms
• stirs
• fidgets
• locomotes
• wiggles
• budges
• tosses
• writhes
• jiggles
• fiddles
• wriggles
• rouses
• squiggles

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• freezes
• remains
• stays
• stills
• hangs around
• stabilizes
• sticks around
• tarries

3

as in changes

to pass from one form, state, or level to another

she watched the aurora in fascination as its colors shifted from green to blue

Synonyms & Similar Words

• changes
• varies
• fluctuates
• morphs
• mutates
• snaps
• improves
• transmutes
• deteriorates
• metamorphoses
• turns around
• worsens
• vacillates
• wavers
• betters
• seesaws
• teeters

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stabilizes
• plateaus

4

as in swaps

to give up (something) and take something else in return

my brother and I shifted seats just before takeoff so that he could sit by the window

Synonyms & Similar Words

• swaps
• exchanges
• changes
• trades
• substitutes
• switches
• replaces
• commutes
• supersedes
• interchanges
• displaces
• yields
• cedes
• surrenders
• reciprocates
• hands over

5

as in copes

to meet one's day-to-day needs

left the others to shift for themselves

Synonyms & Similar Words

• copes
• does
• manages
• survives
• fares
• makes shift
• gets along
• gets by
• gets on
• makes ends meet
• makes out
• affords
• makes do
• scrounges
• fends for oneself
• carries on
• contrives
• scrapes (by or through)
• lasts
• squeezes
• scrapes (out)
• ekes out
• swings
• wrests
• wrings

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collapses
• fails
• falls short
• declines
• wanes
• slumps
• flounders
• fizzles
• gives up
• peters (out)

shifts

2 of 2

noun

plural of shift

1

as in means

an action planned or taken to achieve a desired result

desperate shifts to stave off financial disaster

Synonyms & Similar Words

• means
• measures
• moves
• steps
• efforts
• resources
• things
• attempts
• actions
• activities
• procedures
• acts
• processes
• initiatives
• expedients
• dealings
• works
• goes
• tries
• operations
• feats
• projects
• doings
• proceedings
• proposals
• events
• deeds
• coups
• successes
• passes
• accomplishments
• cracks
• enterprises
• triumphs
• exploits
• pains
• endeavors
• courses
• exertions
• achievements
• affairs
• attainments
• troubles
• undertakings
• propositions
• essays
• businesses
• stabs
• trials
• countermeasures
• labors
• resorts
• flings
• whacks
• shots
• whiles
• countermoves
• countersteps
• makeshifts
• stopgaps

2

as in movements

the act or an instance of changing position

made a small shift to the left to make more room on the bench

Synonyms & Similar Words

• moves
• movements
• motions
• stirrings
• stirs
• migrations
• relocations
• dislocations
• squirms
• mobilities
• locomotions
• motilities
• motivities
• fiddlings

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inertias
• stops
• immobilities
• pauses
• lapses
• finishes
• stoppages
• shutdowns
• terminations
• endings
• halts
• discontinuances
• expirations
• cessations
• shutoffs
• surceases

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shifts

Verb

Their goal was for the album to tell a story of radicalization, following a protagonist who shifts from complacency to an awareness of injustice and institutional oppression, and ultimately resolves to act against it. — Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026

This then shifts the star’s color away from the more typical orange, white, and blue. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026

The approach shifts the timing mechanism from electrons to the atomic nucleus. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026

El Niño also shifts rainfall patterns globally, raising the chances for destructive flooding in some parts of the world. — Lauren Sommer, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026

Rarely anyone shifts the relationship to eventually sit down and ask attendees for their best gift. — Sherry Quam Taylor, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

The evolution of strategies can lead to stable populations, bistable populations (where the population flips between two stable strategies), or limit cycles, where the population shifts continuously among multiple strategies. — Chris Lee, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026

Try meeting their needs first and see if their behavior shifts. — Juli Fraga, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2026

Translation is a mutation of language, but not direct replication; something happens in the process that shifts the direction of the ideas. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026

Noun

Surveys have repeatedly shown that Americans don't like the current clock changes, with lawmakers and physicians blaming the regular time shifts for drowsiness, inconveniences and even risks to health. — Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026

For all the tectonic shifts in college sports, for the nonsensical new national conferences, for the greed and growing pains spurred by pay for play, there was no one more ready to meet this moment than Close. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026

All of this means Owens has had to take shifts in the kitchen, putting off her front-of-house duties and paperwork to her evenings and days off. — Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 1 Nov. 2026

Moment | Getty Images Some companies are beginning to report financial benefits from artificial intelligence investments, as interest in the technology shifts from hype to measurable returns in the latest quarter. — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026

Some voters might need to stop by before work, during a lunch break or after their shifts end. — Sacbee.com, 1 Nov. 2026

But what happens when the season shifts, when the cloying good cheer of—groan—the holiday season comes with its candy stripes and jingle bells and partridges in pear trees? — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2026

But as her wardrobe shifts into fall mode, so too does her approach to accessorizing. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2026

As a result, as the elements of Jurek’s towering and astonishing crimes begin to click together, the plot quickly shifts, leading the narrative into entirely different and ever more haunting directions. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026