BEGINS Synonyms: 132 Similar and Opposite Words

begins

verb

present tense third-person singular of begin

as in commences

to take the first step in (a process or course of action) she began walking to work for exercise

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as in starts

to come into existence the storm began late in the day and lasted all night

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as in establishes

to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of the religious sect was begun by a small breakaway faction

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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 begins From the moment the show begins, viewers can predict (with enormous accuracy) how the season will end. — Selome Hailu, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026 In the care of one another, our archive begins to take shape. — Jason Parham, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Gustavo Dudamel’s New York Philharmonic Season Opener The Dudamera finally begins in earnest. — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026 Victory is thus determined largely by calculations made before battle begins. — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026 As the 2026-2027 school year begins, the Lee’s Summit school district is staring down a massive budget shortfall, which could put dozens of staff and faculty members out of work. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026 Seven of those 22 games will come against each other — four in Philadelphia during a wraparound series that begins Friday, and three in Atlanta the following weekend. — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Diesel has skyrocketed more than 60% so far this year, leaving it on track for the biggest annual increase on record, according to a CNN review of AAA data that begins in 2000. — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026 About 90% of the nation's 500,000 school buses run on diesel, and the rising price has stretched district budgets as the school year begins. — Willa Rubin, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for begins

Verb

The Europa League commences with its first league phase fixtures next week, on Wednesday, September 16 and Thursday, September 17.

— Leon Imber, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
This tender novel of intimacy and its risks begins in Boston in 1969, as Eve, a dancer, commences an affair with a colleague—an indiscretion that spurs her husband, a journalist named Gabe, to cheat, too.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of commences

Verb

Immediately afterward, a second microwave pulse flips the atom into the opposite state, so the superposition that’s flying upward changes into magnetically blind one, and starts falling under gravity with no other forces influencing it.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
And in fairness, there was a cognizant effort to keep Ohtani as rested as possible, including a season-long six-man rotation and an attempt to maneuver Ohtani’s starts to line up on games prior to a team off day, when possible.

— Katie Woo, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of starts

Verb

And organizations need to build an operational model that establishes clear lanes for AI to drive work and guardrails to prevent it from going off course.

— Jason Kurtz, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Strong performance from a single router establishes one part of the picture, while the network tests show how the system performs when additional routing stages are involved.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of establishes

Verb

College football won’t be the same in Evanston after this place opens, regardless of how many games Northwestern wins or loses, and that might be true a lot further afield, too.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Dragon Tiny Homes Its glass-door entrance opens onto its living room.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of opens

Verb

Indian American groups and Democrats said that the poster discriminated against members of the Sikh religion, which originates in South Asia.

— Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 10 Sep. 2026
The clarity of that vision reveals the substantial nature of our true identity, which originates in God, not matter.

— The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of originates

Verb

But as organizations layer on more agents across departments and workflows, small misalignments compound and risk to strategy arises.

— Vic Chynoweth, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
The more mass an object possesses, the greater the curvature, and because gravity arises from this curvature, the greater the gravitational influence.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of arises

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beginnings

begins

begird

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“Begins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/begins. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of begins

verb

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