as in beginning
the point at which something begins
there was a large turnout at the commencement of the conference, but the numbers dwindled as it progressed
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Recent Examples of commencement
Nearly 33,000 people attended Stanford University’s 134th commencement at Stanford Stadium on Sunday.
—
Jane Tyska, Mercury News, 16 June 2025
More than 8,600 Anteaters will earn their degrees over the weekend in 12 commencement ceremonies hosted by UC Irvine in its Bren Events Center.
—Jonathan Horwitz, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
Nationalists criticized any possible hint of anti-communist leanings at the school, such as not prominently displaying the Vietnamese flag at commencement.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025
As commencement ceremonies celebrate the promise of a new generation of graduates, one question looms: will AI make their education pointless?
—Erik Otárola-Castillo, Time, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for commencement
Jane Tyska, Mercury News, 16 June 2025
More than 8,600 Anteaters will earn their degrees over the weekend in 12 commencement ceremonies hosted by UC Irvine in its Bren Events Center.
—Jonathan Horwitz, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
Nationalists criticized any possible hint of anti-communist leanings at the school, such as not prominently displaying the Vietnamese flag at commencement.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025
As commencement ceremonies celebrate the promise of a new generation of graduates, one question looms: will AI make their education pointless?
—Erik Otárola-Castillo, Time, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for commencement
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commencement
Noun
-
Bulls will point to yesterday’s event as just the beginning of an exciting path of growth.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
23 June 2025
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He’s been trying really from the beginning to bring the 10 Black mob families together.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
Shohei Ohtani pitched one hitless inning in his second mound start of the season before hitting a three-run triple and a two-run homer, and Max Muncy had a grand slam and a three-run homer in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 13-7 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.—
Greg Beacham,
Chicago Tribune,
23 June 2025
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And Abel will have five days to think about his next start at the Atlanta Braves.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
Noun
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Since its inception, in 2000, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which works with local governments to bring vaccines to low-income countries, has helped administer 1.9 billion vaccines and reached a billion children.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
27 June 2025
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Ross has been a foundational voice for AEW since its inception.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Noun
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In the five years prior to the onset of the pandemic, the overall crime rate sat between 8 and 9.5 acts per 1,000 students.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
18 June 2025
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Since then, city leaders added hundreds of new employees and, since the onset of the COVID pandemic, relied on one-time funding to balance the books.—
Daniel Borenstein,
Mercury News,
17 June 2025
Noun
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In contrast, Iran’s unprecedented launch of hundreds of missiles and drones deliberately targets Israeli civilians — firing at major cities, neighborhoods and population centers, aiming to murder as many innocent people as possible — Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.—
Laurence Milstein,
Sun Sentinel,
24 June 2025
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Iran denied any missile launch after the ceasefire began and condemned Israel’s pre-dawn attacks.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commencement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commencement. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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