1
as in attack
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
the walls withstood the onset of the first battalion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in beginning
the point at which something begins
the claim that if you take enough vitamin C at the onset of a cold, you'll often recover faster
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of onset
Father-daughter team John and Chiara Adamo intended to open the restaurant before the onset of COVID-19.
—
Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Released on the cusp of daylight saving time, this is the perfect album for the onset of spring, when the lengthening days leave more time to soak up the music’s radiance.
—Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Ratings for the State of the Union declined this year, so the boost in weekend viewing with the onset of the war likely contributed to the bumps for MS Now and CNN.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Excessive air pollution Since the onset of US-Israeli strikes on February 28, at least four oil facilities near Tehran have been hit.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for onset
Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Released on the cusp of daylight saving time, this is the perfect album for the onset of spring, when the lengthening days leave more time to soak up the music’s radiance.
—Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Ratings for the State of the Union declined this year, so the boost in weekend viewing with the onset of the war likely contributed to the bumps for MS Now and CNN.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Excessive air pollution Since the onset of US-Israeli strikes on February 28, at least four oil facilities near Tehran have been hit.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for onset
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onset
Noun
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According to Fairbanks, who moved to South Africa from the United States more than fifteen years ago, attacks on farms appear to be mostly economically motivated crimes.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The attack illustrated the care news outlets must take in reporting during wartime, and the responsibilities of American journalists to report the perspective of countries its government views as enemies.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
These are just the beginning of Nordstrom’s covetable spring fashion deals.—
Jordan Julian,
InStyle,
13 Mar. 2026
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Deerfield defender Addy Margulis figured the beginning of her high school soccer career would be uneventful, at least for her.—
Bobby Narang,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Tavaris Jackson, 35, of Escanaba, was found guilty of first-degree murder, assault of a pregnant individual intentionally causing miscarriage/stillbirth and felony firearm.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
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One of them, Emmanuel Sanchez-Damian was 18 at the time and is facing felony robbery and assault charges.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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He’s allowed between two and seven earned runs in each of his three career starts against them in the regular season.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
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Shaking off a sluggish start, Michigan closed the first half with a 10-2 run.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But with no sign of the en masse mathematical onslaught slowing down, a deluge of LLM-written, subtly wrong proofs may soon overwhelm human resources.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
16 Mar. 2026
-
The onslaught of snow and ice, which can take weeks, if not months, to fully melt, can create a host of issues that render your roof weak and vulnerable.—
Asia London Palomba,
The Spruce,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Production Team Behind the Scenes Lorne Michaels, who has guided the American SNL since its inception, is executive producing.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
17 Mar. 2026
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These paradoxes have defined—or plagued—the theory since its inception more than a century ago.—
Tim Folger,
Scientific American,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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What mattered to Anthropic was a guarantee that Claude would have nothing to do with the analysis of bulk data collected domestically, an issue especially salient to its employees in the context of ongoing ICE raids.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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Recent raids may try to instill fear, but this special communal space feels impervious to such weak displays.—
Lilliam Rivera,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But unlike Hoosier fans, who historically only filled Memorial Stadium for spring commencement ceremonies, Nebraska fans have remained hopelessly devoted to their chronically underperforming team.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
13 Mar. 2026
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Erika Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA and widow of its founder, Charlie Kirk, will be the 2026 commencement speaker at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Onset.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onset. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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