onsets

noun

plural of onset
1
as in attacks
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 beginnings
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

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 onsets Experts said the second earthquake began before the first had even ended, with the two onsets separated by just 39 seconds. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 26 June 2026 Anxiety disorders can persist into adulthood, particularly those disorders with early onsets and those that are left untreated. — Elana Bernstein, The Conversation, 13 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onsets
  1. attacks
  2. beginnings
  3. assaults
  4. starts
  5. raids
  6. inceptions
  7. onslaughts
  8. commencements
Noun
  • On three separate occasions in the past week, Ukraine didn’t receive early warnings about missile attacks.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The wide availability of low-cost, powerful open models is one reason Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that open models in particular pose a risk of widespread and potentially devastating cyber attacks.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacks
Noun
  • Set in the 1980s, the series will follow Marckinkus from his beginnings as Pope Paul VI’s unofficial bodyguard to his tenure at the helm of the Vatican’s finances.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Murky beginnings Growing up in Weston-super-Mare, Archer was doted on by his mother, who worked as a journalist on the local paper and sent him to Wellington School on a scholarship.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of beginnings
Noun
  • Assaults are up, almost 2,500 assaults this year alone on police officers, felony assaults, and public servants in New York City.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Kansas City also ranked 176th in the assaults per capita metric, the fourth-lowest city in the metric.
    — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaults
Noun
  • The offense has been humming with Williams under center, averaging 31 points per game in his three starts.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Trump’s outreach to Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin occurs in fits and starts and lacks a clear set of objectives.
    — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of starts
Noun
  • Five dolphins died in less than eight months, sparking public outrage, raids by law enforcement and a criminal investigation.
    — Valerie Greene, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of raids
Noun
  • McKenzie went 17 for 28 with 295 yards and two inceptions for the Eagles (3-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of inceptions
Noun
  • In fact, reported evidence suggests this software commitment (from a company making its revenue from hardware) has been crucial to Nvidia’s success in fending off onslaughts from other hardware vendors such as Intel.
    — Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Ukraine has been largely helpless in similar Russian onslaughts in recent weeks.
    — Tom Bowman, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of onslaughts
Noun
  • The students booing artificial intelligence at commencements across the country are not just worried about jobs.
    — Mark Bardeen Andrejevic, Washington Post, 10 July 2026
  • Recent Harvard commencements have grown much more political.
    — Michael Casey, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Definition of commencements

Browse Nearby Words

onset
onsets
onslaught
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Cite this Entry

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

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