earmarked

8 synonyms for earmarked, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Set aside for one specific purpose and not available for anything else, especially of money.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

designated

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

allocated reserved designate

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

ring-fenced set aside single out line up

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective

Set aside for one specific purpose and not available for anything else, especially of money.

“The grant is earmarked for teacher training.”

allocated designated reserved ring-fenced set aside

2. verb

Past tense and past participle of earmark: to choose someone or something in advance for a particular role, fate or use.

“She was earmarked for promotion long before the interviews.”

designate single out line up

How to use earmarked

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

earmarked for earmarked funds earmarked for demolition already earmarked

Neutral and common in finance, government and news writing. In British English, ring-fenced is a close alternative for protected funds; in US politics an earmark is also a noun meaning a spending item a legislator directs to their own district.

Etymology

From earmark, a notch or mark cut into the ear of a farm animal to show who owned it.

Full origin of earmarked →

Frequently asked questions

What does it mean if funds are earmarked?

It means the money has been assigned in advance to one named purpose and may not be spent on anything else. Donors and governments use earmarking to make sure a contribution reaches the project they intended.

What is the difference between earmarked and ring-fenced?

Both mean money is set aside, but earmarked describes the intended destination, while ring-fenced stresses that the money is legally or structurally protected from being taken for other uses. Ring-fenced is chiefly British.

Where does the word earmark come from?

From livestock farming, where owners cut a distinctive notch in an animal's ear to mark it as theirs. The idea of marking something in advance as spoken for carried over into money and plans.

People also searched

designated reserved allocated designate

Nearby words

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