Another Word for Create: Make, Build, Design, Produce and More

On this page11 sections

1. Quick picker
2. Make or build a thing
3. Invent something new
4. Create art, music and writing
5. Set up a company, group or system
6. Create a result, problem or feeling
7. Create in digital and work contexts
8. Which noun goes with which verb
9. Mistakes to avoid
10. Practice
11. Quick answers

The most common other words for create are make, build, produce, design and develop. The right one depends on what is being created: a physical object (make, build, construct), something new that did not exist before (invent, devise, come up with), an organisation (found, establish, set up), or a result such as a problem or a feeling (cause, generate, give rise to).

Create itself is slightly formal. In everyday speech people usually say make: “I made a cake”, not “I created a cake”, unless the cake is a work of art. This page groups the alternatives by meaning, shows which nouns each one goes with, and ends with a short practice set.

On this page: quick picker · make or build a thing · invent something new · art and writing · set up an organisation · cause a result · digital and work contexts · which noun, which verb · mistakes · practice · quick answers

Quick picker

Make or build a thing

For things made in factories, use produce or manufacture: “The company manufactures solar panels.” Create sounds odd here unless you mean a new product: “They created a new kind of panel.”

Invent something new

When the point is that the thing did not exist before, these are closer to create than make is:

Note: originate is usually intransitive in modern English (“The idea originated with her”), so “she originated the idea” is possible but less common than “she came up with the idea”.

Create art, music and writing

For creative work, English prefers the specific verb for the art form:

• write a novel, a poem, a song; compose music or a symphony
• paint a portrait, draw a sketch, sculpt a figure
• direct or shoot a film, choreograph a dance
• record or produce an album
• craft a story or a speech (stresses care and skill)

“She created a sculpture” is correct but vaguer than “she carved” or “she cast” one. For the adjective (imaginative, inventive, original), see another word for creative.

Set up a company, group or system

Watch the forms: found, founded, founded (to set up) is a different verb from find, found, found. “He founded the company” is right; “he finded” is not a word.

Create a result, problem or feeling

Create often means “cause”: create problems, create jobs, create a sense of calm. These are the alternatives:

“Create an atmosphere” has natural alternatives too: set the mood, give the room a feel of. “Candles set the mood” is more natural than “candles generated an atmosphere”.

Create in digital and work contexts

• Accounts and files: “Create an account” is the standard wording on websites; alternatives are sign up for, open or register an account. You make or save a file, and add a new folder.
• Reports and documents: draw up a contract, draft a letter, prepare or put together a report, compile a list.
• Software: build or develop an app, code a feature, generate a report or an image (when a program does it automatically).
• On a CV: varied verbs read better than “created” five times: designed, built, launched, developed, introduced, established. “Introduced a weekly review that cut errors by a third” is stronger than “created a review process”.

Which noun goes with which verb

Mistakes to avoid

• Create for ordinary making. “I created breakfast” sounds grand; say “I made breakfast.”
• Invent for discovering. You invent something that did not exist (the telephone); you discover something that already existed (a planet, a cure that works).
• Generate for physical objects. Generate fits energy, data, income and ideas, not furniture: “generate a table” only works for a table of data.
• Coin for anything but words. You coin a phrase, not a product.
• Found vs find. Founded = set up; found = past of find.

Practice

Choose the best word: coined, founded, assembled, devised, generated, composed, caused, set up.

1. The charity was ______ by two teachers in 2004.
2. Our new system has ______ more complaints than the old one.
3. She ______ a simple test to check the data.
4. Who ______ the term “selfie”?
5. He ______ the bookcase in twenty minutes.
6. The fair ______ over £10,000 for the school.
7. Mozart ______ his first symphony as a child.
8. Can you ______ a meeting with the supplier for Monday?

Answers

1. founded
2. caused
3. devised
4. coined
5. assembled
6. generated
7. composed
8. set up

Quick answers

What is a simple word for create?

Make. It works in almost every everyday sentence.

What is a formal word for create?

Establish (an organisation), devise (a plan), produce (goods or results), generate (income or energy) and bring about (change).

What is the opposite of create?

Destroy, demolish (buildings), dismantle (machines or systems), abolish (laws or organisations) and delete (files).

What does “create” mean in British slang?

In informal British English, “to create” can mean to make a fuss or complain loudly: “He was creating because his train was late.” It is chatty and regional.

For figurative ways of talking about making and inventing, see metaphors for creativity and idioms for creativity.