once 1 of 3

as in formerly
at an earlier or previous time I once knew the quotation, but time has taken its toll on my brain cells

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

once

2 of 3

adjective

once

3 of 3

conjunction

as in when
just at the moment that you should have stopped wrestling once you knew someone was getting hurt, not five minutes later

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 once
Adverb
Taylor Swift has once again topped the charts. Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025 The Big Bang happened everywhere, all at once. Paul Sutter, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
You might be left with tiny scratches that make your once pristine appliances and surfaces look less than stellar. Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Apr. 2025 The price target increases come as industry giant BYD last week announced ultra-fast charging technology, on top of its launch in February of driver-assist systems for a range of its cars — signaling the once niche feature is going mainstream. Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for once
Recent Examples of Synonyms for once
Adverb
  • This is to say nothing of ongoing issues for Native American voters, Latino/a voters, the currently and formerly incarcerated, and disabled voters.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Antonoff saw Williams’ band, Paramore, play its first festival show, at New Jersey’s Bamboozle (formerly Skate and Surf) in 2005.
    Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Kabul wants to hedge against its deteriorating relationship with its former patron Islamabad, which accuses the Taliban of harboring a separate but allied group that has carried out deadly attacks inside Pakistan.
    Happymon Jacob, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
  • And with foreign powers long divided over the war in Syria and the uprising against its former dictator, there is little hope for an international tribunal either.
    Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • About 1,300 people from around the world -- ranging from children as young as 12 years old to elite athletes -- participated in the race.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The last one – the last out of a game, say, or the last victory in a playoff series – is considered the hardest one to achieve, if old adages and the like are to be believed.
    Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This capability could be invaluable for aerospace maintenance and other precision tasks.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Informed conclusion here — Whitworth and Fitzpatrick are going to dunk each other in a vat of Skyline Chili, then scream until the cameras cut out.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The erstwhile president and his entourage got on a jet that flew them to Hmeimim, a coastal air base controlled by Russia, which had been his most critical backer in the war.
    Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Worried that Dessalines’s enemies might eventually force upon him the same fate suffered by his erstwhile friend and ally, Christophe refused to be sworn into office.
    Marlene L. Daut September 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Her participation had already sparked controversy due to her past ballroom experience.
    Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Notorious past prisoners Over the past century and a half, the walls of La Santé have deprived many famous French men of their freedom.
    Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • They were not allowed to stay in private homes — annoying for sometime Paris resident Serena Williams — but could eat out at Paris restaurants.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
  • In the next scene, Ed treats his first fan—his sometime girlfriend Adeline Watkins—to the spectacle of a dead, nude woman, eviscerated and strung up like a carcass in a slaughterhouse.
    Judy Berman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Two were discharged, while one remained under observation in an emergency room as of late Friday, the spokesperson said.
    Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
  • It will be replaced again in late November, following four Pittsburgh-area high school football playoff games.
    Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/once. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

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