Synonyms of claim

claim 1 of 2

verb

ˈklām 

1

as in to insist

to state as a fact usually forcefully

people who claim that they have been kidnapped by aliens from other worlds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insist
• allege
• assert
• contend
• declare
• maintain
• argue
• affirm
• proclaim
• announce
• protest
• purport
• profess
• aver
• confirm
• warrant
• defend
• put forth
• reason
• avow
• justify
• avouch
• rationalize
• vindicate
• broadcast
• uphold
• reaffirm
• reassert
• persevere
• support

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deny
• reject
• abandon
• negative
• disclaim
• dispute
• challenge
• repudiate
• question
• negate
• gainsay
• refute
• disprove
• rebut
• disavow
• contradict
• counter
• disown
• confute

2

as in to demand

to ask for (something) earnestly or with authority

after many years had passed, he suddenly appeared to claim his inheritance

Synonyms & Similar Words

• demand
• request
• require
• ask
• want
• call (for)
• command
• exact
• quest
• need
• press (for)
• enjoin
• insist (on)
• stipulate (for)
• clamor (for)
• take
• necessitate
• warrant
• impose
• plead (for)
• cry (for)
• harass
• requisition
• hound
• dun
• badger

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• yield
• surrender
• give up
• relinquish

3

as in to destroy

to deprive of life

cancer claims hundreds of thousands of Americans each year

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• kill
• slay
• take
• dispatch
• fell
• carry off
• murder
• do for
• do in
• croak
• slaughter
• cut down
• neutralize
• waste
• assassinate
• finish
• do away with
• take out
• get
• execute
• make away with
• blot out
• annihilate
• massacre
• whack
• put away
• smite
• decimate
• rub out
• off
• terminate
• kill off
• bump off
• butcher
• snuff
• mow
• ice
• put down
• knock off
• scrag
• suicide
• martyr
• euthanatize
• euthanize

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restore
• raise
• revive
• animate
• resurrect
• nurture
• resuscitate

4

as in to need

to have as a requirement

caring for her three small children claims virtually all of her time

Synonyms & Similar Words

• need
• require
• want
• take
• demand
• challenge
• involve
• call for
• necessitate
• warrant
• ask
• entail
• bear
• beg
• insist
• lack
• stipulate
• cry (for)
• hurt (for)
• exact
• quest
• enjoin
• clamor (for)
• press
• command

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• have
• hold
• possess
• own

claim

2 of 2

noun

1

as in right

an entitlement to something

I'm announcing my claim to that last slice of pizza

Synonyms & Similar Words

• right
• call
• pretence
• title
• pretense
• dibs
• refusal
• privilege
• prerogative
• pretension
• birthright
• favor

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• waiver
• release
• disclaimer
• quitclaim

2

as in stake

a legal right to participation in the advantages, profits, and responsibility of something

a shareholder has a claim in the business

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stake
• interest
• share
• ownership
• partnership
• title
• possession
• part
• co-ownership

3

as in assertion

a solemn and often public declaration of the truth or existence of something

Galileo's claim that the moon has a very irregular surface and thus is not the perfect sphere that the ancients had imagined

Synonyms & Similar Words

• assertion
• declaration
• insistence
• allegation
• announcement
• affirmation
• proclamation
• argument
• profession
• avowal
• protestation
• asseveration
• avouchment
• pronouncement
• justification
• confirmation
• reason
• vindication
• rationalization
• reaffirmation
• reconfirmation

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dispute
• question
• challenge
• disclaimer
• disavowal
• rebuttal
• refutation
• denial
• contradiction
• negation
• disproof
• confutation

4

as in request

something that someone insists upon having

young children make great claims on their parents' time

Synonyms & Similar Words

• request
• demand
• requirement
• wish
• must
• requisition
• desire
• stipulation
• ultimatum
• dun
• need
• provision
• importunity
• essential
• want
• imposition
• basic
• drive
• condition

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb claim contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of claim are demand, exact, and require. While all these words mean "to ask or call for something as due or as necessary," claim implies a demand for the delivery or concession of something due as one's own or one's right.

claimed the right to manage his own affairs

In what contexts can demand take the place of claim?

The synonyms demand and claim are sometimes interchangeable, but demand implies peremptoriness and insistence and often the right to make requests that are to be regarded as commands.

demanded payment of the debt

When would exact be a good substitute for claim?

The words exact and claim are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, exact implies not only demanding but getting what one demands.

exacts absolute loyalty

Where would require be a reasonable alternative to claim?

In some situations, the words require and claim are roughly equivalent. However, require suggests the imperativeness that arises from inner necessity, compulsion of law or regulation, or the exigencies of the situation.

the patient requires constant attention

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of claim

Verb

Müller’s central argument has been that populism should primarily be defined as a movement in which a leader claims to represent a silenced or forgotten—and almost always exclusionary—majority. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025

Jenkins claimed that once this new and sustainable arrangement was in place, but with The Chosen still streaming on Angel, the studio began to violate the terms of their contract. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2025

Noun

Smith and Hill, who was also named in the lawsuit, both vehemently denied all claims of wrongdoing and accused the plaintiffs of being jealous of Piper’s popularity and success. —Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 9 Apr. 2025

Rather than a time of reconciliation, Lee’s surrender was a moment in which a wide range of Americans, including both generals, staked rival political claims. — Made By History, Time, 9 Apr. 2025