snowballed

verb

past tense of snowball
as in increased
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the little problems we ignored began to snowball into huge headaches

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 snowballed Primus’ Bay Area cult following snowballed into a deal with Virgin offshoot Caroline Records for their studio debut, 1990’s Frizzle Fry, which established Primus as irresistible genre iconoclasts. — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026 The inning snowballed from there, with the Sox allowing eight runs on the way to suffering a 9-5 loss in front of 28,657 at Rate Field. — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026 The country music star, who is navigating his divorce from Bunnie Xo, shared how a single indulgence quickly snowballed into a binge while chatting with a fan. — Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026 January's was the deadliest, when security forces killed thousands to crush nationwide demonstrations that started over economic woes and then snowballed into calls for Khamenei's overthrow. — ABC News, 9 July 2026 What had started with USC and UCLA’s departure for the Big Ten snowballed into an existential crisis by 2024. — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 1 July 2026 But as his videos spread online, the response quickly snowballed. — Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026 The warning quickly snowballed into one of the agency's more memorable social media campaigns. — Bailey Berg, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 Amazon Prime Day 2026 has snowballed into one of the best sales events the internet has to offer. — Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowballed
  1. increased
  2. swelled
  3. rose
  4. accelerated
  5. expanded
Verb
  • Russian forces have increased the number of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, likely as part of a push to exploit Kyiv’s shortage of ballistic missile interceptors.
    — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
  • China increased its output by more than 34 terawatt-hours, which means that without China, global nuclear generation would have declined.
    — Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of increased
Verb
  • In the mid-20th century, Anglican congregations in Kenya swelled in size because of the East African Revival movement.
    — Stephanie TriplettAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Rowan ascended to the CEO role in 2021, and the company’s assets have swelled to over $1 trillion earlier this year.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of swelled
Verb
  • The fragrance wraps Turkish rose—a honeyed, full-bodied bloom—in earthy notes of patchouli, sandalwood, and frankincense, while blackcurrant and raspberry add a touch of zest.
    — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 4 Aug. 2026
  • By Michael Sasso, Bloomberg Prices of existing homes rose in 80% of US metropolitan areas in the second quarter, as home values pick up pace after several months of weakness.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of rose
Verb
  • Japan launched a strategy in 1992 to win the World Cup within 100 years, a timeline that would surely be accelerated without Europe, which has stood in their way in three of their five knockout matches.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Consumer spending accelerated over the first quarter, and private investment was positive.
    — Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of accelerated
Verb
  • Beijing in recent years has rapidly expanded mandates for schools in ethnic minority regions to adopt primarily Chinese-language education, starting from kindergarten.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Broadcom expanded a multiyear partnership with Meta Platforms earlier this year to develop successive generations of custom AI accelerator chips, supporting the Instagram and WhatsApp parent's growing AI infrastructure.
    — Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of expanded

Browse Nearby Words

snowball
snowballed
snowballing
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Cite this Entry

“Snowballed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowballed. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on snowballed

Nglish: Translation of snowballed for Spanish Speakers

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