TOUCHSTONES Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

touchstones

noun

plural of touchstone

as in standards

something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared his book has long been a touchstone for travel writing that aspires to be literature

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 touchstones Across the dozen tracks, Sivan leans heavily on ’90s touchstones, traipsing from glitch-hop to drum and bass, casting a wide net across sounds and scope. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026 The monoculture is, or was, a collective frame of reference, a set of mass-cultural touchstones that everyone could assume everyone else knew about. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026 Paulson’s dress incorporated a few of the touchstones of dark glamour, from its dramatic silhouette to the monochrome palette. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026 And cultural touchstones are everywhere, like a jar of agua fresca in which a head is submerged at the birthday celebration, and a quinceañera tiara and scepter embedded in a victim. — Eve Chen, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026 The actors also drew inspiration from some familiar sci-fi and comedy touchstones while filming. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026 Some went on to appear in generational touchstones, while others stayed more under the radar. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026 Newcastle have lost a lot of touchstones, from Howe to Guimaraes to Trippier, Gordon and Tonali. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026 The book is written in fragmentary fashion, discrete chunks of prose that accrete into a greater whole, much like the ancient mosaics that are among of the novel’s thematic touchstones. — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchstones

Noun

Fire Chief Darin Snedeker said a third station is operating below national staffing standards, affecting the district's ability to respond quickly to emergencies.

— Darrielle Fair, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
From men wearing pink to push back against the pressures of toxic masculinity to women pushing back against unrealistic body standards, pink has become a color of defiant empathy.

— Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of standards

Noun

That policy needs to evaluate prospective patients against criteria such as the patient’s needs and the agency’s ability to provide services, in relation to the current caseload, average case mix intensity, staffing and competence of staff.

— Colin Conner II, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Studies have estimated that anywhere between 25% and 35% of the patient population would meet the current clinical criteria for gene therapy.

— Steven Ross Johnson, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of criteria

Noun

Productivity and General Performance Tests We challenge Googlebooks' productivity power with three overall performance benchmarks, two browser-based and one in an Android app.

— Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
Viewed this way, superintelligence describes the depth of nature’s organizing intelligence, not a leaderboard of computational benchmarks.

— Pravir Malik, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of benchmarks

Browse Nearby Words

touchstone

touchstones

touch up

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Touchstones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchstones. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of touchstones

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes