as in to create
to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind)
the ice storm caused a massive power outage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in reason
someone or something responsible for a result
the much-debated causes of the war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in movement
a series of activities undertaken to achieve a goal
joined the freedom fighters' cause as a young man
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of cause
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Cody Turner, an ethicist at Bentley University, also says that sycophantic AI can cause harm by damaging our ability to gather knowledge.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026
Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
Investigators have not determined a cause, and officials cautioned that the investigation is in its early stages.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cause
Verb
There certainly are harmful chemicals, carcinogens, toxins, heavy metals, respiratory irritants and other things inside of there that certainly can cause immediate harm.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Cody Turner, an ethicist at Bentley University, also says that sycophantic AI can cause harm by damaging our ability to gather knowledge.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
No details were immediately available on the cause or manner of death.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
Investigators have not determined a cause, and officials cautioned that the investigation is in its early stages.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cause
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cause
Verb
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The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Blowing up buildings doesn’t help build a mass movement or create momentum for lasting change.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
New romance is a reason to celebrate!—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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The future of legal sports betting States that have not yet legalized sports betting may still see similar trends in financial insecurity for reasons beyond spillover effects.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Senor and Stephens are neoconservatives who hardly needed to be convinced that the members of progressive movements were not friends of the Jewish people.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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The No Kings movement hasn't depended on the Democratic Party to organize its protests; it's built its own infrastructure using social media and digital resources.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As Los Angeles County activists continue their search for the suspect or suspects who have shot multiple alley cats in South Los Angeles with a BB gun, PETA has offered a $5,000 reward in hopes of bringing the crimes to a stop.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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This brings the total to five Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah reignited after the militant group fired rockets into Israel on March 2.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The organization offers a Nurse Family Partnership Program, which consists of weekly home visits from a nurse, and the Guided Journey Program, which focuses on the social determinants of health.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Mar. 2026
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Public health programs and policies are strong determinants of nutritional status, which has direct consequences on individuals’ health, as seen by recent cuts to food assistance programs, rollbacks on community water fluoridation, and alterations to the Dietary Guidelines process.—
Christopher Duggan,
STAT,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That depends on how far the Hornets go this postseason and what president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson has as his vision for the team’s starting power forward moving, well, forward beyond the 2026-27 campaign.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
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Despite being bothered by his elbow throughout the 2025 campaign, Rodón enjoyed his best season with the Yankees last year.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The errant or confabulated information that AI tools can generate is often referred to as hallucinations.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
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Trump has suggested for months that the federal government could nationalize the voting process, generating bipartisan pushback.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This means the study shows an association between premature menopause and heart disease, not causation.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
20 Mar. 2026
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While this study doesn’t establish causation between playing or listening to music and cognitive health, the numbers are pretty persuasive in and of themselves.—
Justin Pot,
Popular Science,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cause.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cause. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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