Synonyms of began

began

verb

past tense of begin

1

as in commenced

to take the first step in (a process or course of action)

she began walking to work for exercise

Synonyms & Similar Words

• commenced
• started
• opened
• launched
• created
• fell (to)
• initiated
• set about
• entered (into or upon)
• embarked (on or upon)
• struck (into)
• got to
• got off
• got going
• established
• organized
• led off
• adopted
• originated
• generated
• founded
• invented
• kicked off
• inaugurated
• instituted
• pioneered
• spawned
• innovated
• took up
• took on
• embraced
• fathered
• set up
• got down (to)
• got around (to)
• got round (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ended
• concluded
• finished
• stopped
• ceased
• terminated
• completed
• halted
• discontinued
• closed
• quit
• laid off
• left
• abandoned
• desisted
• destroyed
• abolished
• knocked off
• extinguished
• demolished
• forsook
• exterminated
• phased out

2

as in started

to come into existence

the storm began late in the day and lasted all night

Synonyms & Similar Words

• started
• commenced
• originated
• arose
• appeared
• was
• formed
• emerged
• arrived
• sprang
• dawned
• set in
• materialized
• existed
• engendered
• lived
• broke
• continued
• actualized
• lasted
• breathed
• persisted
• came on
• subsisted
• survived
• endured
• coalesced
• shaped (up)
• cohered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stopped
• ended
• ceased
• concluded
• finished
• halted
• terminated
• discontinued
• disappeared
• quit
• died
• vanished
• dissolved
• evaporated
• desisted
• departed
• expired
• perished
• passed away

3

as in founded

to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of

the religious sect was begun by a small breakaway faction

Synonyms & Similar Words

• founded
• established
• initiated
• pioneered
• introduced
• launched
• created
• started
• instituted
• inaugurated
• planted
• constituted
• originated
• constructed
• organized
• developed
• innovated
• invented
• set up
• devised
• authored
• produced
• conceived
• manufactured
• thought (up)
• made up
• expanded
• concocted
• funded
• cooked (up)
• contrived
• fathered
• enlarged
• financed
• arranged
• endowed
• fabricated
• subsidized
• reinstituted
• reinitiated
• relaunched
• systematized
• systemized
• refounded
• put up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• closed (down)
• shut (up)
• ended
• stopped
• finished
• abolished
• terminated
• halted
• phased out
• annulled
• nullified
• annihilated
• rounded (off or out)
• wrapped up
• wound up

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of began

Wilson is a seventh-year player who began his career at Fordham and spent 2023 and 2024 at Old Dominion before transferring to Indiana last year. — Antonio Morales, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Since the war with Iran began in late February, the nationwide average diesel price has soared by 60%. — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026

By the time states began ordering the phones out, a generation had spent its childhood inundated by screens. — Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026

Last month, Congo began vaccinating health and other front-line workers with the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type called Zaire. — Jean-Yves Kamale, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026

The Procession of Lights on Wednesday began at the People’s Salvation Cathedral, known as the National Cathedral, which is the world’s largest Christian Orthodox church. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

House hunters are soon likely to see less competition in the market due to a sharp drop in immigration that began last year. — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026

But if the awards season goes as the streamer plans, a journey that began in Cannes with a rapturous standing ovation, could end with Los Javis clasping some golden statues. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026

Vance began the conference by announcing crackdown efforts against fraud in Michigan’s trucking industry. — Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2026