1
as in began
to take the first step in (a process or course of action)
commence the festivities
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in started
to come into existence
the games commenced early in the morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 commenced
TikTok and Snap settled with a plaintiff involved in the case before the trial commenced.
—
Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
Bad Bunny commenced his historic performance with a stage set evoking Puerto Rican history, beginning with the brutal legacy of Spanish imperialism on the island.
—Raquel Reichard, Refinery29, 9 Feb. 2026
Although reinforcements were on the way, the Kings limped into the Olympic break and were on the wrong side of the playoff bubble as the pause commenced.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
As the Bay Area braces for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl XL halftime show, the anti-ICE celebrations have already commenced.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2026
As litigation commenced and DHS officials were called to testify, judges became frustrated at the rampant false testimony and disobedience of the government.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026
That all changed Wednesday evening, when the Metro Mesa League opener commenced between the two schools at Olympian.
—Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2026
On Monday, Robbie revealed her natural curls as the Wuthering Heights press tour commenced.
—Hannah Malach, InStyle, 29 Jan. 2026
Shooting commenced in and around the city of Liverpool earlier this month.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
Bad Bunny commenced his historic performance with a stage set evoking Puerto Rican history, beginning with the brutal legacy of Spanish imperialism on the island.
—Raquel Reichard, Refinery29, 9 Feb. 2026
Although reinforcements were on the way, the Kings limped into the Olympic break and were on the wrong side of the playoff bubble as the pause commenced.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
As the Bay Area braces for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl XL halftime show, the anti-ICE celebrations have already commenced.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2026
As litigation commenced and DHS officials were called to testify, judges became frustrated at the rampant false testimony and disobedience of the government.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026
That all changed Wednesday evening, when the Metro Mesa League opener commenced between the two schools at Olympian.
—Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2026
On Monday, Robbie revealed her natural curls as the Wuthering Heights press tour commenced.
—Hannah Malach, InStyle, 29 Jan. 2026
Shooting commenced in and around the city of Liverpool earlier this month.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commenced
Verb
-
Sunday’s border battle at Wisconsin began in an inauspicious manner for the Minnesota women’s basketball team.—
Staff Report,
Twin Cities,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Just hours after bombs began raining down on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, two FBI agents arrived unannounced at Nikki Nojima Louis’ home in Seattle’s Japantown.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Carolyn Hax started her Washington Post advice column in 1997, after five years on the Style desk and none as a therapist.—
Carolyn Hax,
Washington Post,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Minnesota started slow and trailed the host Badgers 18-8 late in the first quarter.—
Staff Report,
Twin Cities,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Named Issac 0, the company launched the autonomous robot as a prequel to their upcoming robot Issac, which will be released later this year.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The company has already cut its teeth off-Earth with Haven Demo, a 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) pathfinder spacecraft that launched to LEO this past November to demonstrate key Haven technologies.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Lexi Minetree stars in the role originated by Reese Witherspoon.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
This story originated as part of Deadline’s new Comedy Means Business newsletter.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The company originates from a small tea shop in Taiwan opened in 1996 by a man named Zhen-hua Wu.—
Ernestine Siu,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Koda Holeman opened the match by defeating Jeremiah Reno by technical fall 17-2.—
Michael Harley,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The following year, a controversy arose after the couple was sued by a neighboring couple for installing a solid cedar fence that blocked the neighbors’ views of Lake Michigan.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
At one point, a mysterious conflict arose between two women who were both sitting alone, a row apart.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The day before his arrest, Choudri had appeared with Newsom in Kern County to announce the completion of a 150-acre facility that would serve as a hub for construction of the high-speed rail project in San Joaquin Valley.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Such archetypes have also inadvertently appeared on the runways of luxury brands such as Chanel and Miu Miu.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Thaksin has denied there was such a deal.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
In fact, for the first nearly 2 billion years of Earth’s history, there was no appreciable oxygen in the planet’s atmosphere at all.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commenced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commenced. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
