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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb conform contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of conform are accommodate, adapt, adjust, and reconcile. While all these words mean "to bring one thing into correspondence with another," conform applies to bringing into accordance with a pattern, example, or principle.

refused to conform to society's values

Where would accommodate be a reasonable alternative to conform?

The words accommodate and conform can be used in similar contexts, but accommodate may suggest yielding or compromising to effect a correspondence.

accommodated his political beliefs in order to win

When could adapt be used to replace conform?

The meanings of adapt and conform largely overlap; however, adapt implies a modification according to changing circumstances.

adapted themselves to the warmer climate

When would adjust be a good substitute for conform?

In some situations, the words adjust and conform are roughly equivalent. However, adjust suggests bringing into a close and exact correspondence or harmony such as exists between parts of a mechanism.

adjusted the budget to allow for inflation

When might reconcile be a better fit than conform?

The synonyms reconcile and conform are sometimes interchangeable, but reconcile implies the demonstration of the underlying compatibility of things that seem to be incompatible.

tried to reconcile what he said with what I knew

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 conform Besides approving Senate Bill 429 Tuesday, the committee also known as Triple-E voted to make the House version conform to the Senate version, rejecting several cuts on collaborative time and per pupil funding first proposed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore. William J. Ford, Baltimore Sun, 26 Mar. 2025 Cognitive dissonance, motivated reasoning, and the pressure to conform are powerful psychological forces that can prevent people from accepting the truth. Hersh Shefrin, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025 Major League Baseball confirmed that the bats in question conform to the league's maximum size rules and manufacturer regulations. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025 But the exponential complexity of these models doesn’t seem to conform with the behavior of black holes, which appear to scramble information very quickly. Quanta Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for conform
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conform
Verb
  • Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice hosted the event to correspond with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, an annual commemoration that promotes justice for victims.
    Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
  • The Indiana Pacers will host the Milwaukee Bucks in the 4-5 matchup in the East, while the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat finished seventh through 10th, respectively, with corresponding Play-In matchups ahead.
    Joe Vardon, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The space showcased an extensive collection of high jewelry watches, demonstrating Bulgari’s mastery in blending horology with haute jewelry.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2025
  • It is blended with rosemary leaf, Ceylon cinnamon bark, lemon balm, rose centifolia petals, and vitamin B6.
    Bianca Salonga, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • After the family moved to California in the summer, Quaid filed for divorce from Buffington in November 2012 before the two reconciled again, dismissing the divorce in September 2013.
    Brendan Le, People.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • While some researchers attempted to reconcile these differences by suggesting that Prototaxites might be a giant lichen (a symbiotic association between fungi and photosynthetic partners), other studies instead pointed to its entirely distinct molecular fingerprint.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Business leaders must be comfortable with continuously adapting strategies to leverage AI advancements.
    Maribel Lopez, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • The social media company's lawyers pointed to other platforms adapting short-form videos like YouTube shorts, Snapchat, X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn as examples of similar responses to TikTok’s success.
    Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The move coincides with the Mediterranean country's growing tourism industry, which saw a 4% increase in visitor numbers between 2023 and 2024, with a steady influx of travelers throughout the year.
    Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Buck’s career has coincided with the growth of the internet, an increasingly divisive place with the ascent of social media.
    Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • His research, over many years, also found that contributions from political parties correlated with subsequent judicial voting in election disputes over issues such as ballot counting or candidate eligibility.
    Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 6 Apr. 2025
  • The outcome result is not perfectly correlated with the spending.
    Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The post resonated with many developers who felt the company had sacrificed quality, choosing to artificially cap capabilities rather than adjusting their pricing model to reflect true costs.
    Andrew Filev, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The federal government argues the states can adjust their individual budgets.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Wiggins, a skilled scorer, doesn’t fit what the Heat ideally needs: someone who can finish at the basket, draw fouls, get Miami into offense and take over games late.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
  • After making birdie at No. 2, DeChambeau’s first whiff of trouble came on the stretch of holes that have given him fits in his Masters career.
    Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Conform.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conform. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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