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development

noun

di-ˈve-ləp-mənt How to pronounce development (audio)
Definition of developmentnext
1
as in evolution
the act or process of going from the simple or basic to the complex or advanced the development of an idea into a marketable product

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2
as in outcome
a condition or occurrence traceable to a cause a development that the writers of the law never anticipated or intended

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3
as in growth
the process of becoming mature a tulip's development from a bulb into a flower

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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 development Neither Washington nor Beijing benefits from losing control of systems capable of autonomous replication, accelerating the development of their own successors, evading oversight, or enabling catastrophic biological or cyber harm. — Shlomit Wagman, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026 The opening clause of the regulation says it was drawn up to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Amid stark warnings that artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity by the end of the decade, the heads of the largest AI firms in the US have all backed a proposal by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to slow down development to ensure public safety. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 15 Sep. 2026 Early in life this response is beneficial, aiding development, wound healing and cancer prevention. — Venki Ramakrishnan, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for development
Recent Examples of Synonyms for development
  1. evolution
  2. outcome
  3. growth
  4. progress
  5. result
  6. maturation
  7. expansion
  8. resultant
Noun
  • Still, something of an evolution is taking place, with the pressure to adopt courtliness on the wane.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, James commented on the country’s evolution.
    — Tembe Denton-Hurst, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of evolution
Noun
  • Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks to journalists afterward as constructive, frank and useful, but didn’t talk about specific outcomes.
    — Kyla Guilfoil, NBC news, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Vasseur did not wish to discuss the possible final 2026 championship outlook, saying his attention was purely on present performance and taking steps; focus on the process, not the outcome.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of outcome
Noun
  • Not to mention, the Seahawks left plenty of room for growth, whether that’s cleaning up pre-snap penalties or being more explosive as an offense.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • But even in Biden’s last two years — 2023 and 2024 — job growth averaged 166,000 a month.
    — Melissa Goldin, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of growth
Noun
  • In my experience, the strongest engagements begin when both sides understand what can be influenced, what cannot be controlled and how progress will be evaluated.
    — Scott Keever, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • When his former company’s CEO Dario Amodei posted about the need to slow AI progress over the weekend, rival tech leaders such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman quickly backed the call.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of progress
Noun
  • When a close compresses from weeks to days or a forecast updates in hours, finance can operate on current information instead of stale results.
    — Hemant Kapadia, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • After the results of a close Marshall City Council race in central Missouri had been certified, Hoskins' office received a complaint about the tallying of write-in votes, recounted them itself and instructed city officials to change the results.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of result
Noun
  • This new edition was created by cellar master Baptiste Loiseau to highlight the specific maturation conditions in the Cognac house’s Le Grollet cellar, where it was put into an individual tierçon to rest before bottling.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Its value is linked to maturation, rarity, provenance and global demand for premium spirits, rather than quarterly earnings reports or market headlines.
    — Paul Kopec, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of maturation
Noun
  • Amazon has already funded a significant expansion in ULA launch capability to support the Amazon Leo constellation.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The analysts expect China’s semiconductor capital spending to reach $82 billion by 2030, driven by capacity expansion in memory and advanced nodes amid a growing generative AI trend.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Jenny Lee,Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of expansion
Noun
  • Ilie and Ghodla modeled the environment in which the resultant black hole seeds would exist and merge, calculating merger rates and the influence on the gravitational wave background.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • No other spacecraft has ever descended into the moon’s shadowy south polar craters, although NASA did crash a rocket into one in 2009 and watched a resultant plume of water vapor burst out.
    — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of resultant

Browse Nearby Words

developing
development
developmental
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Cite this Entry

“Development.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/development. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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