The other word for busy

How is the word busy different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of busy are assiduous, diligent, industrious, and sedulous. While all these words mean «actively engaged or occupied,» busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

too busy to spend time with the children

When would assiduous be a good substitute for busy?

While in some cases nearly identical to busy, assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

In what contexts can diligent take the place of busy?

The words diligent and busy can be used in similar contexts, but diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

Where would industrious be a reasonable alternative to busy?

The synonyms industrious and busy are sometimes interchangeable, but industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

When could sedulous be used to replace busy?

The words sedulous and busy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

a sedulous investigation of the murder

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Busy Thesaurus

Definitions of Busy

Busy Synonyms

Nearby Words

busyness, busily, busied, busying

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Opposite words of busy

Photo search results for Busy

Man Showing Wristwatch New York Times Square Swarm of Honey Bee People Holding Their Phones Vehicle in Road at Golden Hour Woman Holding Smartphone Sitting in Front of Laptop on Table

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tax consultant, files, files stacked tax consultant, files, files stacked woman, young, lovely shaking hands, handshake, hands laptop, woman, education portrait, woman, girl

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Antonyms for Busy. (2016). Retrieved 2023, April 13, from https://thesaurus.plus/antonyms/busy

Antonyms for Busy. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2023. <https://thesaurus.plus/antonyms/busy>.

Antonyms for Busy. 2016. Accessed April 13, 2023. https://thesaurus.plus/antonyms/busy.

  • active
  • unavailable
  • working
  • buried
  • employed
  • engaged
  • engrossed
  • hustling
  • occupied
  • overloaded
  • persevering
  • slaving
  • snowed
  • swamped
  • already taken
  • assiduous
  • at it
  • diligent
  • having a full plate
  • having enough on one’s plate
  • having fish to fry
  • having many irons in the fire
  • in a meeting
  • in conference
  • in someone else’s possession
  • in the field
  • in the laboratory
  • industrious
  • on assignment
  • on duty
  • on the go
  • tied-up
  • up to one’s ears
  • with a customer
  • bustling
  • full
  • hectic
  • lively
  • restless
  • humming
  • hustling
  • popping
  • tiring
  • busy as a beaver
  • energetic
  • fussy
  • strenuous
  • tireless
  • curious
  • forward
  • interfering
  • meddling
  • prying
  • stirring
  • butting in
  • inquisitive
  • intrusive
  • meddlesome
  • nebby
  • obtrusive
  • officious
  • pushy
  • snoopy
  • troublesome

On this page you’ll find 127 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to busy, such as: active, unavailable, working, buried, employed, and engaged.

  • idle
  • inactive
  • lazy
  • quiet
  • unemployed
  • unengaged
  • idle
  • inactive
  • lazy
  • quiet
  • unemployed
  • unengaged

Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

TRY USING busy

See how your sentence looks with different synonyms.

How to use busy in a sentence

SYNONYM OF THE DAY

OCTOBER 26, 1985

WORDS RELATED TO BUSY

  • aggressive
  • agile
  • alert
  • alive
  • animated
  • assiduous
  • bold
  • brisk
  • bustling
  • busy
  • chipper
  • daring
  • dashing
  • determined
  • dexterous
  • diligent
  • dynamic
  • eager
  • energetic
  • engaged
  • enlivened
  • enterprising
  • enthusiastic
  • eventful
  • fireball
  • forceful
  • forcible
  • fresh
  • frisky
  • hard-working
  • high-spirited
  • hyper
  • industrious
  • intense
  • inventive
  • jumping
  • keen
  • lively
  • nimble
  • on the move
  • perky
  • persevering
  • purposeful
  • pushing
  • quick
  • rapid
  • ready
  • resolute
  • sharp
  • sprightly
  • spry
  • whiz
  • zealous
  • active
  • attentive
  • busy
  • constant
  • diligent
  • eager beaver
  • exacting
  • grinding
  • indefatigable
  • industrious
  • laborious
  • persevering
  • plugging
  • scrupulous
  • sedulous
  • steady
  • studious
  • unflagging
  • untiring
  • whiz
  • zealous
  • adroit
  • agile
  • alert
  • animated
  • bustling
  • busy
  • double-time
  • energetic
  • lively
  • nimble
  • quick
  • speedy
  • sprightly
  • spry
  • vigorous
  • vivacious
  • zippy
  • active
  • assiduous
  • attentive
  • busy
  • careful
  • conscientious
  • constant
  • eager
  • eager beaver
  • earnest
  • grind
  • indefatigable
  • industrious
  • laborious
  • occupied
  • operose
  • painstaking
  • persistent
  • persisting
  • pertinacious
  • plugging
  • sedulous
  • steadfast
  • studious
  • tireless
  • unflagging
  • unrelenting
  • untiring
  • ardent
  • busy
  • devoted
  • diligent
  • eager
  • fervent
  • fervid
  • heartfelt
  • impassioned
  • industrious
  • keen
  • passionate
  • perseverant
  • purposeful
  • sedulous
  • sincere
  • urgent
  • vehement
  • warm
  • wholehearted
  • zealous
  • busy
  • careful
  • complex
  • complicated
  • decorated
  • detailed
  • elegant
  • embellished
  • exact
  • extensive
  • extravagant
  • fancy
  • fussy
  • garnished
  • high-tech
  • highly wrought
  • imposing
  • knotty
  • labored
  • labyrinthine
  • luxurious
  • many-faceted
  • minute
  • ornamented
  • ornate
  • ostentatious
  • overdone
  • overworked
  • painstaking
  • perfected
  • plush
  • posh
  • precise
  • prodigious
  • refined
  • showy
  • skillful
  • sophisticated
  • studied
  • thorough
  • with all the extras
  • with all the options
  • with bells and whistles

Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

Are you tired of being busy? Why not try a new word or an expression which describes your level of busyness a little more precisely. Here are some alternatives which allow you to better express exactly how busy you are and how soon you are likely to be available.  There is, after all, a world of difference between being “a little tied up” and being “completely snowed under”. 

10 alternative expressions 

1. Tied up
 

Example: I’m a little tied up with this new project. 
Nuance: Busy 

2. Occupied 
Example: She’s a bit occupied today dealing with new staff. 
Nuance: Busy

3. Overstretched 
Example: He’s slightly overstretched at the moment. 
Nuance: Very busy


4. Over-extended
 
Example: She’s quite over-extended in this particular role.
Nuance: Very busy

5. Overloaded 
Example: We’re rather overloaded with all these new cases.
Nuance: Very busy

6. Swamped 
Example: They’ve been completely swamped with new customers this week.
Nuance: Extremely busy 


7. Snowed under
 
Example: He’s been snowed under with complaints.
Nuance: Extremely busy 

8. To have enough/rather a lot/too much on one’s plate at the moment
Nuance: Varies according to alternative selected

9. To have other/bigger fish to fry 
Nuance: To have more important things to do


10. To have other priorities today/this week /this month
 
Nuance: To have more important things to do

Use qualifiers or modifiers for greater precision
 

The following qualifiers can be used interchangeably with expressions 1- 7 above 
• A little 
• A bit 
• Slightly 
• Quite 
• Rather 
• Completely 


The London School of English offers high quality English language training for motivated adults from all professional backgrounds. We give you the tools and skills you need to communicate successfully in your field of expertise and to expand your business and career opportunities. Call us on +46 8 5999 4000 or email us at info@londonschool.se for more information about our tailored tuition or simply take our online test to check your English level

Posted: 13 May 2019

Categories: Workplace challenges

Synonym definition

A synonym is a word, adjective, verb or expression that has the same meaning as another, or almost the same meaning. Synonyms are other words that mean the same thing. This avoids repetitions in a sentence without changing its meaning.

Antonym definition

An antonym is a word, adjective, verb or expression whose meaning is opposite to that of a word. Antonyms are used to express the opposite of a word.

Use of synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms and antonyms are intended to:

  • — Enrich a text, an email, a message.
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Examples of synonyms

The words acknowledge, enjoy, welcome are synonyms for «appreciate».

Examples of antonyms

The words blockage, encumbrance, handicap are antonyms for «help».

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In your daily life, for writing an email, a text, an essay, if you want to avoid repetitions or find the opposite meaning of a word. This site allows you to find in one place, all the synonyms and antonyms of the English language. Synonyms-thesaurus.com is more than 70,800 synonyms and 47,200 antonyms available. Here you use the synonyms for busy. These synonyms for the word busy are provided for your information only.

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