Thesaurus results for BIRTH PANG

birth pang

noun

Definition of birth pang

as in contraction

Related Words

Relevance

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 birth pang Because the ending of what feels like the end of the world is actually just the birth pangs of a new creation. — Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025 Such monstrosities, we were told, were merely the birth pangs of a new and mostly peaceful nation. — Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024 The new Germany couldn’t tell its birth pangs from its death rattles. — Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Sep. 2024 And the Affordable Care Act, for all of its birth pangs and flaws and the Republican efforts to repeal it, remains the law of the land. — Peter Baker, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 His knack for conveying compositional struggle ingeniously reflects his theme — a nation’s birth pangs. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2020

Recent Examples of Synonyms for birth pang

Noun

Potassium supports fluid balance and muscle contraction and is part of an eating pattern associated with healthy blood pressure.

— Jo Ann Liguori, Flow Space, 12 Oct. 2026
Flex your calves often Weight-bearing physical activity of any sort supports blood flow in the legs because of how muscular contractions help the veins push blood toward the heart, Jimenez said.

— Erica Sloan, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of contraction

Noun

On October 2, 2018, Israel and Qatar, together with the United Nations, signed an agreement to finance fuel deliveries into Gaza.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
The delivery robots have become a common sight on the streets of downtown Philadelphia and have sparked backlash.

— Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of delivery

Noun

But in earlier myths, Al Basty was described as a hearth deity and a protector of women in childbirth.

— Yulia Denisyuk, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026
Her father, a military commander, is killed by the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, and her mother dies during childbirth.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of childbirth

Noun

Amid the surprises, the families also celebrated the joy of welcoming their babies, especially for Brady, who said the pregnancy came after two miscarriages.

— Marlee Ginter, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Starting menstruation before 12, reaching menopause after 55, having a first pregnancy after 30 or never having been pregnant can also raise risk.

— Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of pregnancy

Noun

But Steinem lived to see the rise of a powerful backlash against her vision of feminism, with reproductive rights, motherhood, childbearing and gender roles once again at the center of the country's culture wars.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Not least because the hips—or rather, a wide pelvis—are considered a symbol of femininity, fertility, and childbearing capacity, both from a cultural-historical and an evolutionary-biology perspective.

— Kelly Niesen, Glamour, 24 July 2026

Definition of childbearing

Noun

This pattern spans over a decade, indicating a remarkable fidelity to the Ashburton River and its surrounding creeks as critical parturition sites.

— Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
His mother paced the spacious birthing stall, working off the pains of parturition, with half the placenta, neatly tied up by an attending stable hand, still hanging out of her.

— William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 15 May 2021

Definition of parturition

Browse Nearby Words

birthmarks

birth pang

birth pangs

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Birth pang.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birth%20pang. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of birth pang

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes