history

noun

ˈhi-st(ə-)rē How to pronounce history (audio)
Definition of historynext
1
as in annals
an account of important events in the order in which they happened a history of the American civil rights movement during the 1960s

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in chronology
a relating of events usually in the order in which they happened we heard the whole history of her illness in excruciating detail

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in past
the events or experience of former times history has many lessons to teach us, if only we would listen

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 history The Review has a history of publishing big feelings about football, keeping with the Oberlin tradition of having big feelings about a lot of things. — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026 Answer some basic questions about your financial history, like late mortgage payments, foreclosures and bankruptcies. — Dan Simms, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026 Viewers unfamiliar with Dostoevsky may struggle to determine which women, flirtations, and betrayals belong to history — and which come from his fiction or are the original work of Szumowska and Englert entirely. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026 The Scream saga began with a ringing phone and one of the most surprising murders in horror-movie history. — Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for history
Recent Examples of Synonyms for history
  1. record
  2. chronology
  3. past
  4. story
  5. commentary
  6. account
  7. report
  8. chronicle
Noun
  • Lucas fired four gunshots into Piper's back, and Rice and Byrd ran inside to call for help, court records say.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Scientists found that moving fluoride ions helps a solid electrolyte move lithium faster, reaching record conductivity.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of record
Noun
  • The beloved star also acknowledged the challenges of fitting eight decades of life into a stage musical, explaining that the creative team sometimes had to adjust the chronology while remaining true to her story.
    — Hedy Phillips, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Over in Marvel’s territory, the X-Men had their whole chronology readjusted when a time-traveling mutant killed off Professor Charles Xavier, allowing Apocalypse to run rampant.
    — Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of chronology
Noun
  • Virtually any object with a connection to King’s past was worth keeping.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In races across the country, former GOP politicians are leaning into their pasts.
    — Mariana Alfaro, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of past
Noun
  • Dunn shared a story about a bat crashing into his leg while entering an arena for a bass tournament weigh-in.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Success inside the ring is only one part of the Taylor story, though.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of story
Noun
  • But Oxley, writing in a commentary, cautioned that there are logistical hurdles and said the value of Venezuela’s reserves may have been exaggerated under former President Hugo Chavez.
    — Collin Binkley, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The Fed chairman, who took office in May for a four-year term, has so far shared very little commentary on the state of the economy or policy outlook.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of commentary
Noun
  • But court filings, video evidence and investigators later contradicted key parts of that account, according to CBS News.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The Administration’s legal filings had already pivoted from quoting historical accounts of White House modernization to arguing that the President’s life was at stake.
    — Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of account
Noun
  • Some Republicans have expressed alarm about the findings in the report, which was filed under seal and withheld from the public by the courts.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Rogue OpenAI agents’ unprecedented coordination during the Hugging Face attack significantly increases the risk of AI escaping human control, analysts said, days after investigators released a bombshell report into the incident.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of report
Noun
  • The show is, in a way, the chronicle of Billie’s quarter-life crisis.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The extremely soapy, enjoyably satirical true-life drama chronicles love, rampant betrayal and a brazen murder plot through three decades of the iconic Gucci fashion house.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of chronicle

Browse Nearby Words

histories
history
histrionic
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Cite this Entry

“History.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/history. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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