What is another word for things?
The word
things can mean a lot of… things. Most of the time, the words
thing and
things are the ones being used in place of more specific words. But there are other general terms you can use instead. The word
things can refer to
anything—it can refer to physical
objects or
articles but also to nonphysical
entities. The word
items can be used for tangible things (as in
We have a few new items in stock) or intangible ones (as in
There are a few items on the agenda). The word
ones is sometimes used as a stand-in for
things (see the preceding sentence). The word
something can be used to refer to an undetermined or unspecified thing. The pronoun
it is commonly used to refer to something without naming it. The plural pronoun
they can be used to refer to multiple things in this way. The word
stuff can be used to collectively refer to a bunch of things, especially a collection of miscellaneous physical objects, but also informally to a collection of intangible things like events or occurrences (as in
A lot of stuff happened today), actions or activities (as in
There is plenty of stuff you can do to stay busy), topics (as in
We learned a lot of stuff in that class), and other stuff. Sometimes, the word
things is used more specifically to mean
belongings, as in
These are not my things—they must be someone else’s. Objects of commerce (
things that are bought and sold) are often generally referred to as
goods.
What is a fancier word for things?
The word things is often somewhat informal. When referring to tangible things, the word objects is less informal. The word items is also a way to be more formal and can refer to tangible or intangible things.
What is the opposite (antonym) of things?
One potential opposite for the word
things is the word
nothing—if you don’t have any
things, you have
nothing. For example:
- “How many things are on the agenda?”
- “None—there is nothing on the agenda.”
