Another Word for Process: Synonyms by Meaning, With Examples

On this page14 sections

1. Quick picker
2. Process as "a set of steps": procedure, method, system
3. Process as "a way of making something": technique, production
4. Process as "change over time": development, evolution, course
5. "In the process of": in the middle of, partway through
6. Process as a verb, for requests and paperwork: handle, deal with
7. Process as a verb, for data and information: analyze, compute
8. Process as a verb, for food and materials: treat, refine, convert
9. Process as a verb, for news and feelings: come to terms with
10. Two senses with no easy synonym
11. Words that are easy to confuse
12. Before and after
13. Practice: choose the best word
14. Quick answers

The most common other word for process, when you mean a series of steps, is procedure, method or system. When process is a verb, the best replacement depends on what is being processed: you handle an application, analyze data, treat or refine a raw material, and come to terms with bad news.

Process is one of those words that turns up everywhere in reports, emails and essays, and it often hides what the writer actually means. A reader learns more from “the refund takes five working days” than from “the refund process takes five working days”. The sections below take each meaning in turn, with an example sentence for every word, then cover the words that are easy to confuse, a few before-and-after rewrites, and a short practice set with answers.

Quick picker

Process as “a set of steps”: procedure, method, system

This is the sense in the hiring process or a three-step process. The synonyms differ in how official and how fixed the steps are.

• Procedure is the formal choice: an agreed, often written, order of steps. Follow the fire evacuation procedure posted by the lifts.
• Method stresses the way something is done, not the sequence. Her method for learning vocabulary is to write ten new words on cards every morning.
• System suggests a set of parts that work together and keep running. The library’s booking system sends a reminder the day before.
• Routine is a process you repeat out of habit. His morning routine starts with a cold shower.
• Workflow is office and software language for how work passes from one person or stage to the next. The new workflow sends every invoice to finance before approval.
• Protocol is a strict procedure in medicine, science, diplomacy or computing. The lab follows a strict cleaning protocol between samples.
• Mechanism is the way something works or is decided. There is no mechanism for students to appeal a grade.

If you only need a plain everyday word, way or steps often does the job better than any of these: “the steps for renewing a passport” is clearer than “the passport renewal process”.

Process as “a way of making something”: technique, production

In manufacturing, cooking and science, process means the method used to turn one thing into another.

• Technique is a skilled way of doing a practical task. The potter showed us a glazing technique from her apprenticeship.
• Production covers the whole job of making goods. Production moved to a larger factory in 2019.
• Operation is a single piece of work in a longer job, or a whole business activity. Cutting and folding are done in one operation.
• Treatment is a process applied to a material. The wood gets a heat treatment that keeps insects out.

Process as “change over time”: development, evolution, course

Scientists talk about natural processes and the ageing process. Here the word means a change that unfolds on its own.

• Development is growth from a simple to a more advanced state. The development of a child’s language is fastest in the first five years.
• Evolution is gradual change, in biology or in anything that changes slowly. The evolution of the English spelling system is full of accidents.
• Progression is movement from one stage to the next. The progression from beginner to fluent speaker takes years.
• Course is the way events run from start to finish, often in in the course of or run its course. Most colds run their course in about a week.
• Cycle is a process that repeats. The water cycle moves water from the sea to the clouds and back.

“In the process of”: in the middle of, partway through

We are in the process of updating our records is common in business emails, and it is often four words where one would do. Try these instead:

• in the middle of: We’re in the middle of updating our records.
• partway through: The builders are partway through the kitchen.
• busy with: The team is busy with the year-end audit.
• under way: Repairs are under way.
• or simply the continuous tense: We’re updating our records.

Keep in the process (without “of”) when you mean “as a side effect”: He fixed the leak and flooded the bathroom in the process. No single synonym says that as well, though along the way comes close.

Process as a verb, for requests and paperwork: handle, deal with

Banks, shops and offices process applications, orders, payments and refunds. The most natural replacements are:

• Handle: Our support team handles about forty claims a day.
• Deal with, a little more informal: I’ll deal with your request first thing tomorrow.
• Review or assess, when someone has to judge it: Your application will be reviewed within ten days.
• Sort out, informal and friendly: Leave the forms with me and I’ll sort them out.
• Fulfil (US fulfill), for orders that must be packed and sent: Orders placed before noon are fulfilled the same day.
• Action as a verb (we will action your request) is common British office jargon. Many readers dislike it, so use it only where your workplace already does.

Be careful not to promise more than you mean: process does not mean approve. “Your loan has been processed” only says someone has dealt with it.

Process as a verb, for data and information: analyze, compute

• Analyze (UK analyse) means examine data to find patterns or answers. We analyzed three years of sales figures.
• Compute or calculate, when the result is a number. The app calculates your average speed.
• Sort, filter or clean, for the routine work before analysis. First we cleaned the data and removed duplicate entries.
• Crunch, informal, as in crunch the numbers. Give me an hour to crunch the numbers.
• Digest or take in, for people reading a lot of information. The report is long, so give the board a week to digest it.

Process as a verb, for food and materials: treat, refine, convert

• Treat: apply a chemical or physical process. The fabric is treated to resist stains.
• Refine: remove impurities. Sugar cane is refined into white sugar.
• Convert or turn into: The plant converts food waste into compost.
• Prepare, for food in a kitchen. The vegetables are washed and prepared in the morning.
• Cure, for meat, fish or tobacco preserved with salt, smoke or drying. The ham is cured for eighteen months.

Note that processed food has no neutral synonym. It is a fixed term, and phrases like packaged food or convenience food mean something a little different.

Process as a verb, for news and feelings: come to terms with

I’m still processing it has become an everyday way to say you need time to understand or accept something. Depending on how heavy the news is, try:

• take in: It was a lot to take in.
• absorb or digest: Give yourself time to absorb the feedback before you reply.
• come to terms with, for loss or a big change: She is still coming to terms with her father’s death.
• work through, for feelings you deal with over time: He worked through his anger with a counsellor.
• make sense of: We’re still trying to make sense of what happened.

Two senses with no easy synonym

In law, process can mean the legal papers that order someone to appear in court, as in serve process; the plain words are summons or writ. Due process is a fixed legal term and should not be swapped for anything else.

There is also a rare verb process, stressed on the second syllable (pro-SESS), meaning to walk in a procession: The choir processed slowly down the aisle. Its everyday synonyms are file, march and walk in procession.

Words that are easy to confuse

Before and after

• Before: The process of getting a visa is a long process.
  After: Getting a visa takes a long time.
• Before: We are in the process of processing your order.
  After: We’re preparing your order now.
• Before: The data was processed and the results were processed into a report.
  After: We analyzed the data and summarized the results in a report.
• Before: I need to process what you said.
  After: Give me a minute to take in what you said.

The pattern is the same each time: name the actual action (getting, preparing, analyzing, taking in) instead of the general idea of “processing”.

Practice: choose the best word

1. Every new employee has to follow the safety ______ before entering the warehouse. (procedure / evolution / digest)
2. Give me a day to ______ the news before I answer. (refine / take in / compute)
3. Olive oil is pressed from the fruit; some of it is then ______ to remove strong flavours. (refined / reviewed / handled)
4. Our team will ______ your refund within five working days. (handle / evolve / cure)
5. The ______ of the disease is usually slow. (workflow / progression / protocol)
6. We’re making steady ______ on the report. (process / progress)

Answers

1. procedure: an official order of steps.
2. take in: to understand and accept news.
3. refined: a material process that removes impurities.
4. handle: dealing with a request.
5. progression: change over time through stages.
6. progress: how far the work has got.

Quick answers

What is a formal word for process?

Procedure is the most formal noun; protocol is stricter still and belongs to medicine, science and computing. As a verb, handle and review are formal enough for any business letter.

What is another word for “the process”?

Usually the procedure, the steps or the way: “the steps for applying” rather than “the application process”. In a story of change, use the development or the course.

What is another word for “processing” an emotion?

Coming to terms with, working through or taking in. “I’m still taking it in” sounds more personal than “I’m still processing it”.

Is “procedure” the same as “process”?

Nearly, but a procedure is usually fixed and agreed in advance, while a process can be informal or natural. You can say “the ageing process” but not “the ageing procedure”.

What is the opposite of process?

There is no exact antonym. For the steps of a job, the contrast is usually with the result or outcome: “focus on the process, not just the result”.

For more precise word choices in formal writing, see another word for develop, another word for improve and another word for explain. If process is in your sentence because you need a stronger verb, another word for create may help too.