When you need a synonym for bestow, the best choice depends on what is being given and why. Grant, confer, award, present, impart, endow, and give can all overlap with bestow, but they are not interchangeable in every sentence. Bestow itself is a formal verb meaning to give or present something, especially an honor, gift, or other valued thing to someone.

This guide explains the most useful alternatives, what each one means, and when a native English speaker would naturally choose it.

Quick Answer: What Are the Best Synonyms for Bestow?

The closest and most useful synonyms for bestow include:

grant, confer, award, present, give, impart, endow, accord, donate, gift, allot, assign, furnish, lavish, honor with, and entrust.

However, the best synonym depends on context:

• Grant — give someone a right, permission, or benefit.
• Confer — formally give an honor, title, degree, or authority.
• Award — officially give something because of achievement or merit.
• Present — formally give someone a gift, prize, or award.
• Impart — give knowledge, information, wisdom, or a quality.
• Endow — provide someone or something with a lasting quality, resource, or benefit.
• Accord — formally give someone status, recognition, or treatment.
• Give — the general, everyday alternative.

Bestow is itself formal and is especially common in constructions such as “bestow an honor on someone” or “bestow something upon someone.”

Best Synonyms for Bestow at a Glance

The important point is that these words are not equally interchangeable. Major dictionaries themselves group bestow with different words depending on its particular sense.

What Does “Bestow” Mean?

Bestow is a formal transitive verb meaning to give or present something to someone, particularly when the thing given is an honor, gift, privilege, quality, or benefit.

For example:

The university bestowed an honorary degree on the scientist.

The passive form is also extremely common:

She was bestowed with several prestigious honors.

More naturally, however, many formal constructions use “bestowed on” or “bestowed upon”:

The medal was bestowed upon the soldier for his bravery.

Cambridge identifies bestow as a formal verb meaning to give something as an honor or present, while Collins similarly defines it as giving or presenting something to someone.

US pronunciation: /bɪˈstoʊ/
UK pronunciation: /bɪˈstəʊ/

20 Useful Synonyms for Bestow

1. Grant

Grant is one of the strongest alternatives when bestow means giving someone a right, permission, privilege, benefit, or formal approval.

Example:

The government granted the organization permission to operate.

Choose grant rather than bestow when the thing being given is an official right or permission.

Best contexts: rights, permission, access, benefits, authority, requests.

2. Confer

Confer is particularly appropriate when something formal is given, such as an honor, degree, title, status, or authority.

The university conferred an honorary doctorate on the author.

This is one of the closest substitutes for bestow in formal recognition contexts. Collins specifically groups confer with grant, present, and accord under relevant senses of bestow.

Choose “confer” when: the emphasis is on officially granting a distinction or status.

3. Award

Award means to officially give something because of achievement, merit, or a decision by an authority.

The committee awarded her the highest honor.

Use award for:

• prizes
• medals
• scholarships
• contracts
• damages
• honors

Unlike bestow, award strongly implies a decision based on merit, rules, or judgment.

4. Present

Present means to formally give something to someone or place something before them.

The mayor presented the award to the winner.

It works particularly well for:

• awards
• gifts
• certificates
• prizes
• formal presentations

Bestow sounds more elevated and ceremonial; present is more straightforward.

5. Give

Give is the broadest and most natural everyday alternative.

The organization gave the researcher an award.

You can often replace bestow with give, but you lose some of the formal or ceremonial tone.

Compare:

The king bestowed a title upon him.

with:

The king gave him a title.

Both are understandable, but bestowed sounds considerably more formal.

6. Impart

Impart is useful when what is being “given” is knowledge, information, wisdom, meaning, or a quality.

The teacher imparted valuable wisdom to her students.

It would sound unnatural to say:

The teacher imparted a gold medal to the student.

That is why impart is a contextual synonym, not a universal replacement.

7. Endow

Endow suggests providing someone or something with a valuable quality, resource, property, or lasting benefit.

The foundation endowed the university with a substantial research fund.

It can also describe qualities:

Nature endowed her with exceptional musical talent.

Endow is especially useful when the benefit is substantial, lasting, or seen as a valuable provision.

8. Accord

Accord is a formal word meaning to give someone a particular status, treatment, recognition, or right.

The court accorded him full legal protection.

It is much more formal than everyday give and is common in institutional or official writing.

9. Donate

Donate means to give something voluntarily, usually for a charitable, public, or beneficial purpose.

The philanthropist donated millions of dollars to the hospital.

While donate can overlap with bestow when giving money or possessions, it carries a stronger association with charitable giving.

10. Gift

Gift can function as a verb meaning to give something as a gift.

The foundation gifted the museum a rare painting.

It is increasingly common in modern English, especially in business and institutional contexts, although give or donate may sound more natural depending on the sentence.

11. Allot

Allot means to distribute or assign a particular share, amount, or portion.

Each department was allotted additional funding.

Use allot when the emphasis is on dividing something among people or groups.

12. Assign

Assign means to give someone a task, responsibility, role, or duty.

The manager assigned her responsibility for the project.

It is related to bestow only in a broad contextual sense. You would not normally treat assign as a direct synonym in ordinary vocabulary writing.

13. Furnish

Furnish can mean to provide or supply something that is needed.

The company furnished the investigators with additional records.

It works with resources, information, equipment, and supplies, but it generally does not carry the ceremonial quality of bestow.

14. Lavish

Lavish means to give something generously or abundantly, particularly attention, praise, affection, money, or gifts.

The critics lavished praise on the young director.

This is a useful alternative when the important idea is generosity or abundance, not simply giving.

15. Honor With

Honor someone with is a useful phrase when bestow refers to giving someone an award, distinction, title, or recognition.

The organization honored her with its highest award.

It is often more natural in everyday modern English than the highly formal bestow.

16. Entrust

Entrust means to give someone responsibility for something or someone.

The director entrusted him with the company’s most important account.

It should not normally replace bestow for gifts or awards because the central idea is responsibility and trust.

17. Afford

Afford can mean to provide or allow something, especially an opportunity, protection, or benefit.

The law affords citizens greater protection.

This is a useful contextual alternative in formal writing, but it is not a general synonym for bestow.

18. Render

Render can mean to provide or give something, especially a service, assistance, judgment, or decision.

The doctor rendered immediate assistance.

It is formal and context-dependent.

19. Apportion

Apportion means to divide and distribute something among people or groups.

The committee apportioned the funds among five departments.

Like allot, it is useful when the thing being given has been divided into shares.

20. Bequeath

Bequeath means to leave property or possessions to someone, usually through a will.

She bequeathed her art collection to the university.

It is not a general synonym for bestow, but it can overlap when the subject is a valuable possession being formally given to another person.

Which Synonym Should You Use?

The easiest way to choose is to identify what is being given.

Bestow vs. Grant

Both words can mean formally giving something to someone.

Bestow is especially natural for honors, gifts, qualities, and valued things:

The king bestowed a title upon the soldier.

Grant is particularly natural for rights, permission, requests, and benefits:

The government granted him permission to enter.

Simple rule

Use “bestow” for something conferred as a valued gift or distinction.

Use “grant” for something officially authorized or permitted.

Bestow vs. Confer

These two are very close when discussing formal recognition.

The university bestowed an honorary degree on her.

The university conferred an honorary degree on her.

Both work naturally.

However, confer strongly emphasizes the formal act of granting a degree, title, honor, or authority. Bestow can sound more ceremonial and emphasizes the act of giving.

Bestow vs. Award

Award is more specific.

The committee awarded him the prize.

The word implies that the recipient was selected or judged worthy of the prize.

Bestow is broader:

The committee bestowed its highest honor upon him.

Choose “award” for:

• prizes
• medals
• scholarships
• competitions
• financial damages

Choose “bestow” for:

• honors
• titles
• gifts
• blessings
• qualities
• symbolic benefits

Bestow vs. Present

Present is usually the more ordinary word for formally giving something to someone.

She presented the winner with a trophy.

Bestow adds a more elevated, ceremonial tone:

The organization bestowed its highest honor upon her.

If you’re writing everyday professional English, present will often sound more natural. If you’re describing a formal honor or ceremonial act, bestow may be stronger.

Bestow vs. Impart

These words overlap when something intangible is being given.

The experience imparted valuable wisdom.

But:

The king bestowed a title upon him.

You would not normally replace bestow with impart here.

Use impart for:

• knowledge
• wisdom
• information
• meaning
• qualities

Use bestow for:

• honors
• gifts
• titles
• privileges
• blessings
• valued benefits

Common Collocations With Bestow

Some of the most useful combinations include:

• bestow an honor
• bestow an award
• bestow a title
• bestow a gift
• bestow a blessing
• bestow a privilege
• bestow a right
• bestow power
• bestow recognition
• bestow praise
• bestow benefits
• bestow meaning
• bestow dignity
• bestow authority
• bestow attention

Collocations matter because a synonym that fits the dictionary definition may still sound unnatural in a particular sentence. Collins, for example, specifically lists collocations such as “bestow a gift” and “bestow a power.”

Common Mistakes When Choosing a Synonym for Bestow

Mistake 1: Treating “give” and “bestow” as identical

They overlap, but bestow is considerably more formal and often suggests that the thing being given has special value or significance.

Mistake 2: Using “award” for everything

Award works particularly well when something is given because of merit or achievement. It is not the best choice for every type of gift.

Mistake 3: Using “impart” for physical gifts

You can impart knowledge or wisdom, but a person would normally give, present, or bestow a physical gift.

Mistake 4: Using “confer” for ordinary giving

Confer is strongly associated with formal distinctions, degrees, titles, rights, and authority.

Mistake 5: Assuming every thesaurus entry is interchangeable

Thesaurus lists can contain broad, contextual, or related terms. Cambridge’s extensive results for bestow, for example, include broad giving verbs such as provide, supply, and offer, while more specific formal alternatives include award, confer, and grant.

Is “Bestow” Formal?

Yes. Bestow is a formal word. Cambridge labels it formal and defines it primarily as giving something as an honor or present.

For everyday conversation, give will usually sound more natural:

She gave him a gift.

For formal or ceremonial writing:

She bestowed a gift upon him.

The second sentence sounds more elevated and deliberate.

Can You Say “Bestow Upon”?

Yes. Bestow upon is a standard formal construction.

The king bestowed the honor upon the soldier.

You can also use bestow on:

The university bestowed the award on her.

The construction is well established in dictionary examples and usage.

Is “Bestow” the Same as “Give”?

Not exactly.

Give is the broad, everyday word. Bestow is more formal and often implies deliberately giving something valued, significant, or ceremonial.

Compare:

The teacher gave the students some advice.

The king bestowed an honor upon the soldier.

The first is ordinary communication. The second has a formal or ceremonial character.

What Is the Best Synonym for “Bestow”?

There is no single best synonym for every sentence.

• Grant is best for rights and permission.
• Confer is best for degrees, titles, and formal honors.
• Award is best for prizes and recognition based on merit.
• Present is best for formal gifts and awards.
• Impart is best for knowledge and wisdom.
• Endow is best for lasting qualities or resources.
• Give is best when you want simple, natural language.

If you want to preserve the formal and ceremonial tone of bestow, confer is often one of the closest choices for honors, while grant works especially well for rights and privileges. Major thesauruses likewise identify confer, grant, present, and award among the principal alternatives.

Conclusion

Bestow means to give or present something, especially an honor, gift, privilege, quality, or other valued benefit, and it is normally more formal than give.

The best replacement depends on context. Use confer for formal honors and degrees, grant for rights and permission, award for prizes and merit-based recognition, impart for knowledge, and endow for lasting qualities or resources. For ordinary situations, give is usually the simplest choice.