CAUGHT ON (TO) Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

caught on (to)

verb

past tense of catch on (to)

as in realized

to come to an awareness of she caught on to the fact that they were planning a surprise party

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in understood

to have a clear idea of he finally caught on to the concept of phototaxis

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for caught on (to)

Verb

It was also realized that having festive crowds enjoying the sight of a someone being killed was unseemly, exposing the base instincts that lie within us.

— Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026
Investors in closed-end funds that use municipal bonds still get monthly tax-free income, but what's distributed can come from a combination of interest payments, realized capital gains from the sale of underlying holdings and return of capital.

— Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of realized

Verb

It was discovered the hot box was not turned on soon enough prior to placing hot food in the unit.

— NWA Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
The exact story of how coffee was discovered isn’t known for sure, but one popular legend says an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi noticed that when his goats ate from a red berry plant, they were infused with energy and stayed awake all night.

— Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of discovered

Verb

The state’s rebuttal witness testified that Hinton was grieving and angry but knew his actions were wrong.

— Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
After all, very few people outside of the inner A24-Fielder-Oppenheim circle knew anything about it before its shock Telluride screening.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of knew

Verb

Meanwhile, companies are deploying AI agents by the thousand, and not one of them has read the company policy or heard the new local court ruling.

— Daniel Kjellén, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Jurors also heard about Garza’s previous run-ins with law enforcement — and his family’s struggles to get help from the county with his mental health.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of heard

Verb

Tyler Shultz, a former Theranos research engineer who helped expose the company’s faulty blood-testing technology, barely recognized the woman on-screen.

— Bilin Lin, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
The manager there recognized a Met Opera ticket in the print and ordered the $90 ties, which sold out in three days.

— Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of recognized

Verb

As a child, Betkowski displayed a morbid curiosity with chemicals and explosives, Cooper learned.

— Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
For decades, junior accountants learned their trade by reconciling accounts, manually entering data, and grinding through the month-end close.

— Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of learned

Verb

But a more apt comparison might be the Mirabilia Urbis Romae, in which Medieval scholars deciphered the staggering ruins of Classical Rome.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2026
Re-creating the Herculaneum scrolls To date, one entire scroll and passages from others have been deciphered, largely thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge, a project launched in 2023 that encourages researchers to decode scrolls for cash prizes.

— Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of deciphered

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.

Browse Nearby Words

caught one's eye

caught on (to)

caught up

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“Caught on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caught%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of caught on (to)

verb

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