dawning 1 of 2

as in dawn
the first appearance of light in the morning or the time of its appearance the cold, gray dawning of a wintry day

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dawning

2 of 2

verb

present participle of dawn

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 dawning
Noun
Or the dawning in 1893 of the age of Wrigley and its Juicy Fruit gum! — Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2026 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 His addition also heralded the dawning of an era in which LACMA actively sought to strengthen its connections with the entertainment world. — Arts Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026 From the origins of the Yakuza, the dawning of chemical warfare, and FDR’s spy shops, the novel treks across World War II to the dawn of the Cold War. — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026 The dawning of light in this actor’s eyes breathes life into the old tale. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025 On social media, some people even suggested this was the dawning of a new populist coalition of left and right. — Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 30 Nov. 2025 As the sun rises behind the ELT, the image stands for the dawning of a new era in astronomical discovery. — Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
Already offputting, Reid’s performance of Rapp’s dawning realizations — flipping from dismissive skepticism to feverish belief with little in between — grows less grounded by the minute. — Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 There’s both a lot and not much at all going on in Kamei’s life, which is complicated by his dawning friendship — and maybe something more — with an American military brat, Colin (West Mulholland, Presence). — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 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 And Cooke, the season’s MVP of revealing expressions and reaction shots, conveys through Alicent’s uncertain and frightened face at all those butterflies a dawning realization of the betrayal she’s suffered. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 Léa Seydoux gives a very committed, unaffected performance as Lucy, an experimental pianist who must deal with the dawning knowledge that her beloved husband Philip (Laurence Rupp) has a second life online as a pedophile pornographer. — Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 15 May 2026 But the young nation was dawning a new age. — Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026 Three races in, there’ve been unforeseen winners, unpredicted changes to the schedule and the unanticipated reality of regulation changes dawning. — Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026 This is the familiar stage of rhetorical climbdown, indicating dawning awareness that a problem is more complicated than the president initially thought. — S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawning
Noun
  • Unlike many mosquito species that bite mostly at dawn and dusk, the mosquitoes carrying dengue feed aggressively during daytime hours and thrive in humid residential environments.
    — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In the morning, just as dawn’s light spreads across the island, Lea McCauley finally closes her eyes.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • The high-scoring, deep-shooting affair continued seconds into the second half with Egor Denim beginning the third with another trey to give the Nets a 20-point lead.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The seats are available for travel beginning March 5, with one-way fares starting at $90 for the Premium bundle, which includes extra legroom, and $129 for the First Class bundle, which includes first-class seating.
    — Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • Houston metro area showers should ease after sunrise Wednesday, but lingering clouds and a few passing showers could affect Veterans Day events before drier air arrives late at night.
    — Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Upstairs, Dirand took down walls so that the primary bedroom runs the full width of the house, capturing light from sunrise over the ocean to sunset over the garden.
    — Lucas Oliver Mill, Architectural Digest, 11 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Michael Grasso, of nearby Clarendon Hills, wanted to teach them a lesson, starting with being safe around trains and tracks.
    — Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Now, with the sport growing in popularity, beginners are starting to come too, bringing with them an exciting new energy.
    — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • Others charged registered to vote and cast their ballots the same day despite not being eligible, the DOJ alleged.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Van Daalen said the business started with just three owners and two employees, with the owners working from open until close each day.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • However, the companies have not announced a specific US Navy procurement award arising from the trial.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In an email to Space, Asphaug explained some of the issues arising from this, since current estimates place the timing of the moon's formation anywhere from around 40 to 120 million years after the formation of the solar system.
    — Micah Hanks, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The light green safari shade is especially fun, or go for an aquatic vibe with the icy morn/sea wave two-combo.
    — Rena Behar, Travel + Leisure, 26 May 2023
  • This gives me, in the parking lot the next morn, yet another opportunity to introduce myself to fellow travelers who possess jumper cables.
    — John Phillips, Car and Driver, 9 Jan. 2023
Verb
  • Holmes was convicted of fraud in 2018 and sentenced to just over 11 years in federal prison, commencing in May 2023.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The film will shoot on location at the heart of Pendle in Lancashire, with principal photography commencing end of September.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dawning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawning. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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