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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in started
to come into existence
the storm began late in the day and lasted all night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of begun
The clinic’s waiting room has begun to thin out for the day.
—
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Hekmat says customers have already begun naturally crossing between categories.
—Karin Eldor, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Since 2023 a new set of laws have begun to govern how capital gets deployed, ones that more or less render the Mythical Man-Month* irrelevant.
—Martin Casado, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Israeli forces had begun stopping the flotilla around 167 miles from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website.
—Natalie Melzer, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
And this trend is a continuation of one begun in 2025.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2026
Three-and-a-half years after buying the former Veterans Affairs hospital, GM Development has begun refashioning it into apartments.
—Thomas Gounley, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
At this point, the first three seasons of Love Island UK had begun streaming on Hulu.
—Anna Peele, Vulture, 20 May 2026
Hiring for some roles has begun.
—Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Hekmat says customers have already begun naturally crossing between categories.
—Karin Eldor, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Since 2023 a new set of laws have begun to govern how capital gets deployed, ones that more or less render the Mythical Man-Month* irrelevant.
—Martin Casado, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Israeli forces had begun stopping the flotilla around 167 miles from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website.
—Natalie Melzer, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
And this trend is a continuation of one begun in 2025.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2026
Three-and-a-half years after buying the former Veterans Affairs hospital, GM Development has begun refashioning it into apartments.
—Thomas Gounley, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
At this point, the first three seasons of Love Island UK had begun streaming on Hulu.
—Anna Peele, Vulture, 20 May 2026
Hiring for some roles has begun.
—Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for begun
Verb
-
In an interview with People magazine published Wednesday, May 13, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos reflected on authorities' progress in the high-profile search operation, which commenced in early February after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her home in Arizona.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
If dopamine neurons in the basal ganglia degenerate as happens in Parkinson’s disease, movements become harder to initiate and slower once they are commenced.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
That marked the weakest growth since December 2022, according to Wind data, as China started to loosen its Covid curbs.—
Anniek Bao,Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
-
Then, in 2021, I was given the opportunity through a connection at The New York Times to submit an essay about a local organization I’d started six years prior called the Donkey Soccer League.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Two of Rubén’s older sons, who married Russian acrobats during international stints, broke off and founded their own troupe as Circus Caballero.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
-
The project is also a big venture for Blink49 Studios, the banner founded in 2021 by international TV veteran Morayniss, an alum of Entertainment One and Alliance Atlantis.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Exactly where in Sacramento County the cases originated has not been released.—
Cecilio Padilla,
CBS News,
20 May 2026
-
Alex Mahon was in charge of Channel 4 during the period when the MAFS allegations originated.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The project, which used a Dornier Alpha Jet aircraft and a HAX25 sounding rocket developed by an Italian company named T4i, was initiated to support Italy’s push to develop a more responsive launch capability.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
-
The Port of Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport endured a cyberattack in August 2024 initiated by a ransomware group that caused some IT system outages disrupting Wi-Fi, facility websites, flight display screens and check-in kiosks.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
After all, the Mavericks are ECHL postseason regulars and this is the first time such conflicts have arisen.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
-
There is a trend that has arisen around the NFL in recent years.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
The five-star analyst noted that server CPU business grew by more than 50% year-over-year across enterprise and cloud, mainly driven by units with a higher average selling price, as Turin constituted over half of the mix.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
17 May 2026
-
According to court documents, Yves Bouvier purchased the work for $60 million privately from Sotheby’s, then sold it to Dmitry Rybolovlev for $85 million, part of the series of markups that constituted the alleged scam.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Three races in, there’ve been unforeseen winners, unpredicted changes to the schedule and the unanticipated reality of regulation changes dawning.—
Amanda Davies,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The fans who’ve been down with me since the ’99 and 2000s, the ones who’ve been riding with me all the way to now.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Begun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/begun. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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