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dawn 1 of 2

noun

Definition of dawnnext
1
as in sunrise
the first appearance of light in the morning or the time of its appearance we stayed up talking until dawn

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in beginning
the point at which something begins the dawn of civilization

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dawn

2 of 2

verb

ˈdȯn How to pronounce dawn (audio)
as in to start
to come into existence a smile dawned on his face as he got the joke

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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 dawn
Noun
There are scenes shot at dawn, dusk, day and night, in beautiful weather and in pouring rain, the latter of which inevitably results in gorgeous rainbows. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026 This dates back to the dawn of consumer-facing chatbot AI, which didn’t have a long honeymoon period as exciting and life-changing tech. — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
In this dawning age of artificial intelligence, tech companies are racing to train and run their large language models using massive data centers that guzzle electricity and strain resources. — Arielle Frommer, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026 But the golden age of cable that dawned in the late 1990s and streaming’s early-2010s rise multiplied the number of titles platforms were pumping out. — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for dawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawn
  1. sunrise
  2. beginning
  3. start
  4. dawning
  5. inception
  6. begin
  7. day
  8. onset
Noun
  • The refuge is open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset.
    — Neal Riley, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The workday begins long before sunrise and often does not end until the following day.
    — Sebastián López Brach, The Dial, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of sunrise
Noun
  • The industry remains near the beginning of its cycle, and the same principles—control over keys, and the routing of decisions—apply well beyond custody, including the issuance of tokenized instruments.
    — Sergey Stopnevich, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The timing of such decisions has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the sport just seven weeks out from the beginning of the regular season, and coaches involved are either fuming or biting their lips until there’s more clarity.
    — CJ Moore, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of beginning
Verb
  • But with mixed feelings the band’s nucleus of fans are holding their breath as their champions start their steady climb.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Moccasin Flats started with a simple idea—build three houses in Southern Utah that feel more like part of the desert than something dropped onto it.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of start
Noun
  • The quiet moments, the grief, the slow dawning of realization that her husband had written this piece as a way of dealing with his grief and her anger.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Ever enterprising, Toha does eventually make her way back to the party, but there, the ultimate dawning of her place outside of Nelly’s circle is heartbreaking.
    — Alissa Simon, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of dawning
Noun
  • How development slowdown talks could impact RSI A key challenge labs face — and have been facing essentially since the technology’s inception — is ensuring their safety measures advance alongside the models’ capabilities.
    — Kaitlyn Huamani, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Although there have been significant wins for LGBTQ+ equality since its inception, Thorud said the organization faces similar issues to those of 35 years ago, including a lack of representation for transgender and nonbinary journalists.
    — Kat Tran, Sacbee.com, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of inception
Verb
  • Graham began screenwriting with teleplays for the ‘80s version of The Twilight Zone.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2026
  • More expansive early voting is scheduled to begin in those and other states in the coming weeks.
    — ALI SWENSON, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of begin
Noun
  • Geiger-Müller and neutron detectors found no detectable gamma or X-ray emissions, while neutron counts remained statistically indistinguishable from background during about five days of monitoring.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2026
  • My king bed was crisp, puffy, and beyond dreamy to slip into after a long day on my feet.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of day
Noun
  • Green Bay Packers’ all-time leading rusher Ahman Green, who recently announced his diagnosis with early-onset Parkinson’s disease, will get the Matthew Thomas Robinson Courage Award.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
  • After the show, the remainder of the tour was halted by the onset of COVID-19, and the rescheduled shows were later canceled due to health complications related to Dion’s stiff-person syndrome diagnosis.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of onset

Phrases Containing dawn

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dawdling
dawn
dawned
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Cite this Entry

“Dawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawn. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dawn

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dawn

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