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
Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
Prosecutors alleged that from January 2018 through April 2022, the couple repeatedly beat their children with belts, leaving welts and causing bleeding at their home in Crawford County, Wisconsin, News 8 Now reported.
—Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said his cause of death could not be determined without further testing.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cause
Verb
But the vaccine must overcome the same obstacles that caused an earlier Lyme vaccine to be pulled from the market in 2002.
—Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
Prosecutors alleged that from January 2018 through April 2022, the couple repeatedly beat their children with belts, leaving welts and causing bleeding at their home in Crawford County, Wisconsin, News 8 Now reported.
—Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Noun
The Pueblo County Coroner will release the woman’s name, as well as her cause and manner of death, at a later date.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said his cause of death could not be determined without further testing.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cause
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cause
Verb
-
One of the bills would create a pilot program for psychedelic or psilocybin mushrooms to be used in medicine for the treatment of mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.—
Esme Murphy,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Public transport systems have struggled to keep up, creating demand for commercial motorcycles and auto-rickshaws.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Snook believes there are several reasons for pickleball’s momentum.—
Janice Phelan,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Bayern Munich will take an advantage back to Germany next week and their goalkeeper is one of the reasons why.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Trotsky’s arguments about revolution in one nation versus a revolution of the international proletariat, like the fine argumentative tracery of Paul’s Jewish Christians versus Greek ones, seemed vital to the movement at the time but weirdly trivial and abstract to those outside it.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
These sonobuoys typically work as part of a larger network, where multiple buoys are deployed over a wide area to create an underwater surveillance grid, allowing operators to triangulate and track submarine movements more accurately, as per reports.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Community members are asked to bring their own bags.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
This thing that brings us into the world can so quickly be deemed indecent.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Moreover, since the risk of contracting HIV is closely linked to the social determinants of health, such as having safe and stable housing and employment, barriers to HIV testing could further widen health gaps.—
Nathaniel M. Tran,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
-
High blood pressure is treatable, but despite having access to effective and affordable medications, more than half of Americans still have uncontrolled hypertension, with rates going up in sync with adverse social determinants of health.—
Elizabeth Cooney,
STAT,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Prior to the vote, local officials and other local leaders took no chances and got involved in a campaign that included social media ads and mailers to voters to communicate how the revenue benefits the city and helps cover an array of services.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
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Part of the same generation from La Masia as Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, who both broke into the first team before Flick arrived, Bernal was promoted from the academy by the German coach for his debut campaign in the 2024-25 season.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The National Weather Service says strong winds could generate breaking waves of 8 feet causing dune erosion and road overwash.—
Mark Price
April 8,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Two of his 12 fastballs generated at least 26 inches of induced vertical break, something no pitcher had accomplished in a major-league game since the Baltimore Orioles’ Félix Bautista did it in 2023.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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 13 Apr. 2026.
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