as in former
having been such at some previous time
the once child star is now a lawyer in the entertainment industry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in when
just at the moment that
you should have stopped wrestling once you knew someone was getting hurt, not five minutes later
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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show current usage.
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Recent Examples of once
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 May 2026
Pickle juice, once an afterthought at the bottom of a jar, is now being treated as a functional ingredient and a marketing hook, signaling just how far the trend has come.
—Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 16 May 2026
Nandika Chatterjee, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
The flights through the once Category 5 storm have been particularly hairy, with one of the NOAA aircraft having to return to its base for a safety inspection after exceeding its g-force limits from the turbulence.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for once
Adverb
The displacement of the creative class that once gave cities their productive friction.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 May 2026
Pickle juice, once an afterthought at the bottom of a jar, is now being treated as a functional ingredient and a marketing hook, signaling just how far the trend has come.
—Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 16 May 2026
Adjective
The once summer home became a residential dwelling once more.
—Nandika Chatterjee, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
The flights through the once Category 5 storm have been particularly hairy, with one of the NOAA aircraft having to return to its base for a safety inspection after exceeding its g-force limits from the turbulence.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for once
Recent Examples of Synonyms for once
Adverb
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Wanted, the musical formerly known as Gun & Powder, is heading to Broadway this fall with Solea Pfeiffer and Liisi LaFontaine starring as the real-life Mary and Martha Clarke, respectively, Black twin sisters who passed as white in 1893 Texas.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
13 May 2026
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Aside from a solo operator or someone more interested in music, that in practice leaves ATG Entertainment, formerly the Ambassador Theatre Group, which, for my money would be far and away the best owner of the theater from a Chicago theatergoer’s point of view.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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López was one of the fiercest critics of then-Mayor Fúnez, a supporter of the mine and close ally of Honduras’ former president, Xiomara Castro.—
Marlon González,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
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Following the deaths last week of two franchise icons, Braves fans gathered Tuesday night at Truist Park to honor the lives of former manager Bobby Cox and former owner Ted Turner at the team’s game against the Chicago Cubs.—
Ken Sugiura,
AJC.com,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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Most of them were spent on the third defensive pairing, and then the 22-year-old was scratched for Tyson Hinds late in the year as Quenneville favored the size of Hinds, who spent most of his season in the American Hockey League.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
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Now imagine moving millions of items, each of them delicate, unique, priceless and old.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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Like other pools in China, swimmers will need to don a swim cap to take a dip.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
-
In other words, the surface numbers and the eye test are matching the analytics in Chisholm’s case.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver are reuniting for a special video episode of their erstwhile podcast Strike Force Five, the quintet of late-night hosts announced during their joint appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
11 May 2026
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Then, in 2017, Tesla mainstreamed the Model S with the more affordable Model 3, surpassing the erstwhile eco-warrior favorite Prius.—
Brooke Crothers,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Adjective
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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham would need to return to Parliament to mount a bid, while Angela Rayner continues to contend with the fallout from past tax issues.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
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My novel became a similar revisiting of strange past lives, as well as a crystallization of the desire to be free of forces that had once consumed me—whether that was home, or people who reminded me of home, things that could deliver pain and pleasure at once.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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The college student and sometime singer and actress, now 21, made her society debut at the Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris in 2024.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
12 May 2026
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The rain should begin to taper off sometime midday Monday or Monday afternoon followed by clearing skies and a cooler breeze Monday evening into Tuesday.—
Cutter Martin,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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The Park Hyatt Beijing welcomes many business travelers, and the easy-access power and latest USB outlets show the renovation’s attention to detail.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
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Look to the spinal cord of the team up the middle, from goalkeepers Mia Justus (who picked up an injury in late April) and the USWNT’s Mandy McGlynn to center back Kate Del Fava, Narumi Miura and Mina Tanaka in the center of the park, and Paige Cronin up top.—
Melanie Anzidei,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/once. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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