BREAKTHROUGHS Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

breakthroughs

noun

plural of breakthrough

as in improvements

an instance of notable progress in the development of knowledge, technology, or skill Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin was one of medicine's great breakthroughs, for penicillin became the first antibiotic to successfully combat bacterial infections in humans

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 breakthroughs History shows, however, that his predictions for when his companies’ breakthroughs will occur tend to be several years off the mark—if the breakthroughs happen at all. —

Phil Plait, Scientific American, 1 May 2026 But the White House reopened discussions with Anthropic in recent weeks after the company made significant announcements about several technology breakthroughs. —

Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 1 May 2026 Scientific breakthroughs could also aid in antelope conservation Hofreiter and other researchers created a bluebuck genome from a specimen at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, identifying the roan and sable antelope as the bluebuck's closest living relatives. —

Mike Snider, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026 Over time, those breakthroughs often show up in everyday technology, even if the connection is not always obvious. —

Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026 Our universities and scientists collaborate on breakthroughs that benefit people far beyond our two countries. —

Stephen Doughty, Boston Herald, 27 Apr. 2026 The bet is that the breakthroughs worth making can’t emerge from any single discipline working alone. —

IEEE Spectrum, 27 Apr. 2026 These periods tend to bring sudden news, endings, breakthroughs or a turning point. —

Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 26 Apr. 2026 Technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and beyond are transforming cancer research and care for patients around the world. —

Washington Post Live, Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breakthroughs

Noun

Architectural review committees can review, comment on, and approve or reject owners’ plans for property improvements and modifications in accordance with a community’s governing documents and architectural guidelines.

— Nicole R. Kurtz, Miami Herald, 7 May 2026
These are safety improvements, but developers have a great incentive to improve the science of stairwells as these spaces have no sellable square footage.

— Michelle Sinclair Colman, Curbed, 7 May 2026