1
as in lived
to have life stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in ranked
to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes our school's football team is first in its division
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4
as in happened
to take place the party is next Saturday
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 was Following Prince’s death, there was a two-year investigation into the circumstances around his untimely passing. —
Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026 There was no immediate word on the identities of the perpetrator or the identify of the person who died. —Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2026 There was the balancing act between Brooklyn and Long Island. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2026 There was no way my number wouldn’t one day come up. —Nick Morton, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026 And then there was the 2025 NHL draft. —Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026 Afterward, there was no bloodbath. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 According to the report, there was a moderate increase in the overall number of antisemitic incidents last year compared with 2024, but that total represents a huge jump from 2022, before the war in Gaza. —ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026 There was no immediate word on the identities of the perpetrator or the identify of the person who died. —Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2026 There was the balancing act between Brooklyn and Long Island. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2026 There was no way my number wouldn’t one day come up. —Nick Morton, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026 And then there was the 2025 NHL draft. —Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026 Afterward, there was no bloodbath. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 According to the report, there was a moderate increase in the overall number of antisemitic incidents last year compared with 2024, but that total represents a huge jump from 2022, before the war in Gaza. —ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
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The second Palestinian killed, Abu Naim, was a parent at the school who lived nearby.— Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
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To swim in the shadow of the largest mammal that has ever lived.— Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Climate fund dry powder stood at $90 billion in this year’s first quarter, down from a $112 billion peak in the same period last year, according to a new Sightline Climate report.— Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 21 Apr. 2026
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Whispers in the hallway indicated no more seats would be added ahead of the meeting to accommodate those who stood outside.— Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Lowe, the fifth-longest-serving Ray with seven years and 57 days of service time, left ranked among the franchise leaders in numerous categories including homers (157, third); runs (415, sixth); extra-base hits (295, sixth) and doubles (126, eighth).— Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2026
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Ahead of Coachella’s second weekend, then, here’s a list, ranked from worst to best, of every hit that Bieber has put inside the Top 10 of Billboard’s flagship singles chart, the Hot 100.— Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Staffers also contacted the Colorado State Patrol, as the 70-car pileup happened, to alert law enforcement.— Alan Gionet, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
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Crash happened amid snowy weather The Colorado Department of Transportation previously warned motorists that winter driving conditions were being reported throughout the Interstate 70 Mountain Corridor on April 14.— Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Maybe a lot of producers are Melissas, afraid of the present, looking toward a past that never really existed.— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2026
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That world had existed mostly in smaller forums and niche communities, but Clavicular brought it into the mainstream.— Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.— Amanda Rosa, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
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The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.— Angel Saunders, People.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Horton exited his second start of the year in Cleveland on April 3 and was placed on the IL the next day.— Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026
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He was placed onto a stretcher and lifted into an ambulance.— Jan Wagner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.— Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
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All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.— Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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