FOUNDED Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

founded

verb

past tense of found

as in established

to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of John Harvard did not actually found the university that now bears his name

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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 founded The sisters also founded fashion accessories label Dannijo in 2008, expanding into sports with DannijoPro. — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026 Trump posted a video Thursday night that directly called El-Sayed a member of the group, which was founded in Egypt; his administration has designated chapters as terrorist organizations. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026 The project involves researchers from Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering and Sensible Photonics, a startup co-founded by Pitt professor Paul Ohodnicki. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026 Composed of the Hernández brothers (Jorge, Hernán, Eduardo and Luis) and cousin Óscar Lara, Los Tigres Del Norte was founded in the late 1960s in the Sinaloan town of Rosa Morada and settled in San José. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Dude Perfect was founded in 2009 when Tyler Toney, Coby Cotton, Cory Cotton, Garrett Hilbert and Cody Jones were all students at Texas A&M and decided to start a trick shot YouTube channel. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 The festival was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford and had previously been held in Park City, Utah. — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 Ho, who co-founded 852 Films, picked up the Fantastic Icon Award at BIFAN’s 30th edition, honoring her body of work in genre film. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026 Fabscrap was founded in 2016 by New York City Department of Sanitation employee Jessica Schreiber. — Bella Webb, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for founded

Verb

The result nevertheless established an auction record for the artist.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Curated by Javier Garcia Puerto, the program has been celebrating filmmakers who challenge cinematic conventions, bringing together emerging voices and established directors.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of established

Verb

The original Ocarina of Time pioneered 3D video games and established action mechanics that still reign over the industry.

— James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
Taking a page from SpaceX’s playbook If the design feels familiar, that is because SpaceX pioneered it.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of pioneered

Verb

Earlier this year, the Dutch adaptation launched on RTL4 to more than 1 million viewers and a Polish version delivered TVN’s biggest primetime launch in five years, according to TF1.

— Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
The owner of The Armoury, a four-unit men’s retailer with locations in New York and Hong Kong, has acquired his largest brand, named a new creative director and launched a second career as a pseudo real estate developer.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of launched

Verb

The previous year, the agency initiated 541 chases, according to department data.

— Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
Netflix has initiated a major round of layoffs Wednesday, eliminating about 6% of its global staff or some 1,000 jobs for its biggest round of job cuts in four years.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of initiated

Verb

Everyone duly introduced, the crew gets to work preparing for the first charter.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
First introduced on Italy’s Canale 5 in 1999, the word game has appeared in more than 10,000 episodes across 12 countries, according to Good Formats.

— Emiliano de Pablos, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of introduced

Verb

Once that was created, the company answered the demand of its customers for a physical location.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
The entry is paired with a suite of portraits of a number of Black men and women wearing MooreWraps, versatile multi-wear garments created by Moore’s sister with proceeds donated to victims of domestic violence and incarceration.

— Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of created

Verb

The county’s healthcare system, meanwhile, instituted its fourth year of budget trims in anticipation of major federal cuts to Medicaid.

— A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
Park and Recreation recently instituted a 20 mph speed limit along the county’s greenway trails and already has some rules on the books, such as requiring helmets for riders aged 16 or younger.

— Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of instituted

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“Founded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/founded. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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