Synonyms for shark

Grammar : Adj, noun, verb

Spell : shahrk

Phonetic Transcription : ʃɑrk

Top 10 synonyms for shark

Other synonyms for the word shark

Définition of shark

Origin : 1560s, of uncertain origin; apparently the word and the first specimen were brought to London by Capt. John Hawkins's second expedition (landed 1565; see Hakluyt).
There is no proper name for it that I knowe, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a 'sharke' [handbill advertising an exhibition of the specimen, 1569]
The meaning "dishonest person who preys on others," though attested only from 1599 (sharker "artful swindler" in this sense is from 1594), may be the original sense, later transferred to the large, voracious marine fish. If so, it is possibly from German Schorck, a variant of Schurke "scoundrel, villain," agent noun of Middle High German schürgen (German schüren) "to poke, stir."
But on another theory, the English word is from a Mayan word, xoc, which might have meant "shark." Northern Europeans seem not to have been familiar with sharks before voyages to the tropics began. A slightly earlier name for it in English was tiburon, via Spanish (where it is attested by 1520s), from the Carib name for the fish.
The English word was applied (or re-applied) to voracious or predatory persons, on the image of the fish, from 1707 (originally of pick-pockets); loan shark is attested from 1905. Sharkskin (1851) was used for binding books, etc. As the name of a type of fabric held to resemble it, it is recorded from 1932.
There is the ordinary Brown Shark, or sea attorney, so called by sailors; a grasping, rapacious varlet, that in spite of the hard knocks received from it, often snapped viciously at our steering oar. [Herman Melville, "Mardi"]

As in shrewd : adj clever, intelligent
As in master : noun expert, skilled person, female or male
As in professional : noun person prepared for work by extended study or practice
As in quack : noun person who pretends to be an expert
As in swindler : noun person who cheats another
As in wizard : noun person who is highly skilled
As in harpy : noun a greedy person
As in con artist : noun confidence man
As in con man : noun confidence man
As in confidence man : noun con man
As in racketeer : noun gangster
As in cheater : noun cheat
As in cheat : noun person who fools others
As in cozener : noun cheat
As in defrauder : noun cheat
As in diddler : noun cheat
As in sharper : noun cheat
As in victimizer : noun cheat
As in crook : noun criminal, thief
As in expert : noun master, specialist
As in fraud : noun person who is false, deceitful
As in lend : verb loan, accommodate

Example sentences :

This shark, I was told, had kept company with me as long as I had been in sight from the schooner.
Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper

The shark had apparently been harpooned at sea, and washed into the Humber.
Extract from : « Adventures and Recollections » by Bill o'th' Hoylus End

The gentleman purchased the shark for a museum in Fleetwood.
Extract from : « Adventures and Recollections » by Bill o'th' Hoylus End

Hey was down in the hold, having left me to take care of the shark.
Extract from : « Adventures and Recollections » by Bill o'th' Hoylus End

This makes me think that he must have been a shark, and not a whale, as the others assumed.
Extract from : « The Last Voyage » by Lady (Annie Allnutt) Brassey

He is now commonly accosted by the question "Who stretched the shark?"
Extract from : « Six Letters From the Colonies » by Robert Seaton

But sometimes when I was sure it was a shark it was really a swordfish!
Extract from : « Tales of Fishes » by Zane Grey

We ran across a shark of small size and tried to get him to take a bait.
Extract from : « Tales of Fishes » by Zane Grey

The boatman brought my rifle and a shot scared the shark away.
Extract from : « Tales of Fishes » by Zane Grey

He met a lady in Boston who wanted him to tell her a shark story.
Extract from : « Dave Porter At Bear Camp » by Edward Stratemeyer

Antonyms for shark

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019