Synonyms of touchstones

touchstones

noun

plural of touchstone

as in standards

something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared

his book has long been a touchstone for travel writing that aspires to be literature

Synonyms & Similar Words

• standards
• criteria
• benchmarks
• metrics
• yardsticks
• measures
• barometers
• examples
• norms
• grades
• pars
• instances
• rules
• bars
• marks
• gold standards
• pinnacles
• averages
• cases
• summits
• meridians
• zeniths
• peaks
• apexes
• acmes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deviations
• abnormalities
• aberrations

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of touchstones

The book is written in fragmentary fashion, discrete chunks of prose that accrete into a greater whole, much like the ancient mosaics that are among of the novel’s thematic touchstones. — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026

According to the announcement, the semi-acoustic record draws inspiration from reflective touchstones in Young’s catalog such as Comes a Time and Prairie Wind, with lyrics that grapple with memory, mortality and renewal. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 7 Aug. 2026

Each was furnished with familiar touchstones, or content upon which my mind could depend. — Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026

Time and again, TV shows, movies and cultural touchstones like the Coachella festival thrust legacy acts into the limelight. — David Deal, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

If technology is redefining so many industries across America, why then should it not also be applied to solve the age-old issues surrounding one of the nation’s cultural touchstones? — William Jones, USA Today, 20 July 2026

The touchstones are plentiful—Harmonia’s cyclical drift, Alice Coltrane’s stargazing elegies, gamelan’s hypnotic shimmer—but the song is strange and unpredictable. — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 13 July 2026

The 2016 animation featured cultural touchstones nodding to Polynesian culture and folklore, and those moments resonated with audiences. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 11 July 2026

One of the show’s touchstones is an outsized painting by the Yugoslav-Bosnian artist (and former soldier) Ismet Mujezinovic titled Charge (1947). — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026