Definition of onset
- the onset of winter
- the onset of age-related diseases
the walls withstood the onset of the first battalion
the claim that if you take enough vitamin C at the onset of a cold, you'll often recover faster
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'onset.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
circa 1522
alpha, baseline, beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, day one, genesis, get-go (also git-go), inception, incipience, incipiency, kickoff, launch, morning, nascence, nascency, outset, start, threshold;
close, conclusion, end, ending, omega;
cessation, closing, closure, completion, finale, finish, period, stop, termination, windup;
drawing board, first base, ground zero, square one;
creation, founding, inauguration, initiation, institution, origination;
cradle, fountain, fountainhead, germ, origin, root, seedbed, source, spring, well, wellspring;
See words that rhyme with onset Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for onset Spanish Central: Translation of onset Nglish: Translation of onset for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of onset for Arabic speakers
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