as in finds
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
the novelist lit upon the plot for his latest thriller while visiting a remote lighthouse in Maine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lights (on or upon)
Verb
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His father, John Allen Wooden, a writer and creative producer and one of more than a dozen parents who spoke to NBC News about i-Ready, finds this baffling.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
12 May 2026 -
The largest study of school phone bans finds mixed results.—
Greg Toppo,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Verb
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People dispense advice to our heroine of the kind that one encounters in stories properly poised on the cusp of life.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Given the complaint’s estimate that Temu is responsible for over 10,000 spam emails to Californians each year, the company encounters considerable potential liability in a state that is a primary battleground for digital privacy rights.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
1 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Lights (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lights%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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