onetime 1 of 2

adjective

ˈwən-ˈtīm How to pronounce onetime (audio)
Definition of onetimenext
1
as in occasional
happening only once with any luck, that was a onetime mistake

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in former
having been such at some previous time the onetime English teacher now works for a newspaper

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

onetime

2 of 2

adverb

as in formerly
at an earlier or previous time an athlete who onetime competed in marathons on a regular basis

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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 onetime
Adjective
Before 2022, the onetime prime-time pioneer cycled through a succession of announcers and received increasingly middling games on the NFL schedule, which led to stagnating ratings and frustrated ad buyers. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2026 As the son of a violinist and onetime president of Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, Hindoyan was indoctrinated with classical music. — Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Adverb
Some of the clips show onetime Orbán loyalists venting dissatisfaction with the government. — Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026 The score from The Princess Bride swelled as Reiner’s onetime (or sometimes multiple-time) actors turned to face him and pay their final respects. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for onetime
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onetime
  1. occasional
  2. former
  3. formerly
  4. erstwhile
  5. once
  6. old
Adjective
  • With the Patriots and Bills accounting for four games on the schedule, the Jets can’t keep treating divisional victories as occasional breakthroughs.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • For most of human history, our Sun’s occasional tantrums have been of little concern to those of us living on Earth’s surface.
    — Mike McRae October 15, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of occasional
Adjective
  • Kim Aris, the London son of former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said he was allowed a 20-minute phone call from the Nobel Peace Prize winner detained in her native country and who has not been seen publicly in five years.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Then last month, Kwan appointed former Rwandan Minister of State for Infrastructure Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye as RFO’s principal of emerging markets and business development to drive investment flows between Asia and Africa.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of former
Adverb
  • Absentee investors act as hosts or hire property managers to handle bookings, packing as many as 14 people into formerly 2-bedroom units subdivided with unpermitted walls.
    — Linda Robertson Updated October 22, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Zuckerberg said that Threads, the newest addition to the Family of Apps, has now overtaken X (formerly Twitter) in monthly active users, while WhatsApp is seeing all-time highs for messages sent.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of formerly
Adjective
  • Aditya Guru Dev and Samyukta Lakshmi—grandchildren of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore—acquired a bungalow with good bones and a slowly failing roof.
    — Nuriyah Johar, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Below’s detour to Little Pot Rock wraps up quickly with little explanation for the erstwhile hag’s seemingly flesh-and-blood existence on the island, but something spooky’s going on with her for sure.
    — Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of erstwhile
Adverb
  • That has only happened once before for New York, in March 1989.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For example, once a rat has been trained to push a lever to get a treat, its dopamine levels will rise at the sight of the lever before the treat is even available.
    — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of once
Adjective
  • The pickup’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, was taken into custody but was later released after police consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
    — Maggie Vespa, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of old

Browse Nearby Words

one-sidedness
onetime
one-two
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Cite this Entry

“Onetime.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onetime. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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