Telegraphs are an outdated form of long-distance communication that involved sending electrical signals through wires. Synonyms for telegraphs include telegrams, which were written messages sent via telegraph, or Morse code, which is a system of dots and dashes used to communicate over telegraph wires. Other synonyms for telegraphs might include signals, messages, communiques, or dispatches. While telegraphs played a significant role in communication during the 19th and early 20th centuries, they have largely been replaced by more modern forms of communication such as phone calls, email, and text messaging.