as in increased
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
the little problems we ignored began to snowball into huge headaches
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Recent Examples of snowballed
What started as a difficult period gradually snowballed into something that felt impossible to manage alone.
—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
1 June 2026
The numbers snowballed as teachers grew to trust Danny Go!
—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
29 May 2026
What began as a tongue-in-cheek swipe against remarks made by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India has snowballed into a satirical political movement on social media.
—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 May 2026
The lack of depth snowballed into Oliver Glasner’s frustrations with the hierarchy amid a nine-game winless streak from December 14 to February 1.
—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
But exasperation took over, and the goals snowballed into a lopsided loss.
—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
6 May 2026
The situation snowballed into what many viewed as a fractured relationship between Reese, her teammates and the front office.
—
Amber Harding Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Four years later, the original concept has snowballed into a luxury hotel and working regenerative farm in the same model as South Africa’s Babylonstoren or Somerset’s The Newt, with grander plans still to come.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Then Yuki Matsui tweaked his groin in spring training, some soft contact snowballed on Adrián Morejón and Estrada began losing zip on his fastball.
—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
1 June 2026
The numbers snowballed as teachers grew to trust Danny Go!
—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
29 May 2026
What began as a tongue-in-cheek swipe against remarks made by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India has snowballed into a satirical political movement on social media.
—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 May 2026
The lack of depth snowballed into Oliver Glasner’s frustrations with the hierarchy amid a nine-game winless streak from December 14 to February 1.
—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
But exasperation took over, and the goals snowballed into a lopsided loss.
—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
6 May 2026
The situation snowballed into what many viewed as a fractured relationship between Reese, her teammates and the front office.
—
Amber Harding Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Four years later, the original concept has snowballed into a luxury hotel and working regenerative farm in the same model as South Africa’s Babylonstoren or Somerset’s The Newt, with grander plans still to come.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Then Yuki Matsui tweaked his groin in spring training, some soft contact snowballed on Adrián Morejón and Estrada began losing zip on his fastball.
—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowballed
Verb
-
Through 2025, the application backlog increased, leaving it 48% higher than at the end of former President Joe Biden’s term.
-
The bank said last week's hawkish Federal Open Market Committee meeting has increased uncertainty over the outlook for short-term interest rates, even as lower oil prices have eased concerns about an economic downturn.
Verb
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But to diversify its ranks, the Oscars organization has swelled in recent years.
-
Brazilian broadcaster CazéTV had encouraged its viewers to follow Vozinha during the match, and the response was immediate — his following swelled to 1 million within minutes of the final whistle.
Verb
-
Shady Alassar | Anadolu | Getty Images Oil rose slightly early Tuesday, fluctuating as investors show cautious optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East.
-
Humphreys’ coach at the 2024 world championship in Belgium told him his pulse rate rose to 207.
Verb
-
Video shows how chase led to deadly crash Instead of stopping, the purple car accelerated and sped through a red light, according to video from Joel’s dashboard camera.
-
One of the officials told CNN that the Justice Department’s National Security Division was already preparing to look at some of the stories’ sources, but Trump’s stack accelerated the effort.
Verb
-
Under his leadership, SMUD expanded workforce training programs, and joined the state’s Energy Imbalance Market, a wholesale energy-trading market that allows SMUD to buy low-cost renewable energy in real time, and sell excess energy to generate additional revenue.
-
According to the agency, the Dodd-Frank Act, a 2010 law passed in the wake of the housing crash to tighten financial oversight, expanded its authority by giving it control over swaps, a type of derivative contract.
Cite this Entry
“Snowballed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowballed. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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