The Meaning of Bespoke: What It Is and How To Use It

What does the word bespoke mean, and how can it be used in a sentence? This article will teach you all about the meaning of bespoke.

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Do you own anything bespoke? This article will teach you how to use bespoke in several ways. Then, it will provide information about translations of the word bespoke, synonyms and antonyms, and its origin. Read on to learn more!

What Does Bespoke Mean?

According to Dictionary, bespoke is an adjective that means custom-made or made to order. You can also refer to a person who makes custom items as a bespoke tailor. Bespoke usually refers to custom clothing or garments. 

Bespoke can also be a verb, the past participle of bespeak, and the simple past tense of bespeak. Archaically, the word bespoke was an adjective, meaning engaged or in a relationship. The pronunciation of bespoke is bɪˈspəʊk.

How Can Bespoke Be Used in a Sentence?

You might see this word of the day in several types of sentences! While bespoke is not a common word, it is very specific. First, look at these example sentences with the word bespoke. Then, see if you can find a way to use the word bespoke in a sentence in your everyday life!

Example #1: A Bespoke Tailor

The bespoke tailor had extremely high pricing compared to the ready-made clothes a person could find at the mall. However, each piece was custom made and fit the customers perfectly, so they felt that it was worth the price. 

Question: Which had a higher price, the tailor or the clothes from the mall?

Answer: The tailor had a higher price than the clothes from the mall.

Example #2: A Bespoke Suit

The suit maker made a bespoke suit exactly to the customer’s specifications. First, the customer picked out her preferred fabric, cut, and length. Then, the suit maker took her measurements and made a set of pieces that fit her perfectly.

Question: What did the customer get to choose for her suit?

Answer: The fabric, cut, and length.

Example #3: Bespoke Software

The editor featured the new bespoke software in the New York Times, and they had more downloads than ever before.

Question: What did the New York Times feature lead to?

Answer: More downloads than ever before.

Example #4: The Bespoke Shoes

The bespoke shoemaker was disappointed at the number of people who preferred to buy cheap shoes and throw them away every few years rather than investing in one high-quality pair of shoes. 

Question: Why was the shoemaker disappointed?

Answer: People buy cheap shoes and throw them away.

What Is the Etymology of Bespoke?

According to Dictionary, the word bespoke has been used since the mid-1700s as a past tense of the verb bespeak. However, this word comes from the 900s Old English besprecan, from the word speak and the verb-forming prefix be.

What Are Translations of Bespoke?

The word bespoke has numerous translations outside of American English or British English. By referencing this list of bespoke translations from Nice Translator, you can learn how to refer to something bespoke in many different languages. 

If you are traveling and looking to have custom clothing made, this list of translations may be useful!

  • Ukrainian: закупорювати
  • Portuguese (Portugal): sob medida
  • Malayalam: ബെപ്കോക്ക്
  • Indonesian: dipesan lebih dahulu
  • Spanish: hecho a la medida
  • Arabic: مفصل
  • Swahili: Bespoke
  • Norwegian: Skreddersydd
  • Italian: bestia
  • Filipino: pasadya
  • Danish: skræddersyet
  • Chinese (PRC): 定制
  • Dutch: op maat gemaakt
  • Portuguese (Brazil): sob medida
  • Turkish: ısmarlama
  • Swedish: skräddarsydda
  • Czech: na zakázku
  • Basque: beseokatu
  • Estonian: kohaletoimetaja
  • German: maßgeschneidert
  • Serbian: пренети
  • Welsh: pwrpasol
  • Slovak: zadržať
  • Vietnamese: Thiết kế riêng
  • Telugu: బెస్పోకీ
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 定制
  • Finnish: räätälöity
  • Russian: накладки
  • Thai: ตามความต้องการ
  • Marathi: bespoke
  • Polish: zrobiony na zamówienie
  • Catalan: aposta
  • Croatian: ugovorio
  • Hindi: पहले से शर्त करना
  • Icelandic: bespoke
  • Tamil: பிரத்தியேகமான
  • Hungarian: mérték utáni
  • Latvian: ekskavators
  • Kannada: ಬೆಸ್ಪೋಕ್
  • Romanian: Bespoke
  • Korean: 맞춤
  • Gujarati: બેસ્પોક
  • Amharic: የአበባው
  • Greek: προπαραγγελία
  • French: sur mesure

What Are Synonyms of Bespoke?

Bespoke is a fairly formal, uncommon word that many people might not know. If you are in a situation where someone does not know what you mean by bespoke, you can use one of these synonyms of bespoke from Power Thesaurus.

Using a synonym can also be useful if you feel you have overused the word bespoke or are looking for a word with a different connotation. How many of these synonyms of bespoke are you familiar with? 

  • adapted
  • added up
  • affianced
  • alluded to
  • altered
  • augured
  • bespeak
  • bespoken
  • betoken
  • boutique
  • custom
  • custom-built
  • custom-made
  • custom-tailored
  • customized
  • demonstrate
  • denote
  • designer
  • desired
  • display
  • evidence
  • fitted
  • handmade
  • indicate
  • made to measure
  • made to order
  • made-to-measure
  • made-to-order
  • manifest
  • modified
  • perfect
  • personalized
  • point
  • quest
  • reflect
  • request
  • reveal
  • show
  • shown
  • signal
  • signified
  • signify
  • specially made
  • suitable
  • suited
  • tailor-made
  • tailored

What Are Antonyms of Bespoke?

Several words in the English language have the opposite meaning of bespoke. These words can refer to something mass-produced or unoriginal. Some of the words on this list of antonyms of bespoke from Power Thesaurus have a positive connotation, while others have a negative connotation. See if you can determine which are which!

  • assemble
  • assembled
  • bought
  • built
  • commercial
  • common
  • complete
  • completed
  • construct
  • constructed
  • cookie-cutter
  • corny
  • create
  • done
  • fabricate
  • factory-made
  • machined
  • mass-produce
  • mass-produced
  • off-the-peg
  • off-the-rack
  • off-the-shelf
  • overused
  • prefab
  • ready-made
  • ready-to-wear
  • scaffolded
  • store-bought
  • synthesize
  • tooled

Conclusion

The word bespoke (bɪˈspoʊk) is an adjective that means custom-made or made to order. It can also refer to a person who makes such clothes. In the past, bespoke meant engaged or in a relationship. Therefore, bespoke can also be a verb and the past participle form of the word bespeak.

Sources:

  1. 73 Words and Phrases for Mass-produced | Power Thesaurus 
  2. Bespoke synonyms – 190 Words and Phrases for Bespoke | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Bespoke Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
  4. Bespoke | Nice Translator