Synonyms of started

started

verb

past tense of start

1

as in jumped

to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise)

I started from my chair when I heard the sudden scream

Synonyms & Similar Words

• jumped
• leaped
• cringed
• winced
• startled
• bolted
• flinched
• jerked
• twitched
• reacted
• responded
• sprang
• recoiled
• spooked
• jolted
• shrank
• bounded
• blenched
• quailed
• squinched

2

as in founded

to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of

started the impressionist movement in art

Synonyms & Similar Words

• founded
• established
• initiated
• pioneered
• introduced
• launched
• began
• created
• instituted
• inaugurated
• planted
• constituted
• originated
• organized
• constructed
• innovated
• developed
• invented
• set up
• devised
• authored
• produced
• conceived
• thought (up)
• manufactured
• expanded
• made up
• funded
• concocted
• cooked (up)
• financed
• enlarged
• fathered
• contrived
• arranged
• fabricated
• endowed
• subsidized
• relaunched
• systematized
• reinitiated
• reinstituted
• put up
• systemized
• refounded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• closed (down)
• shut (up)
• stopped
• finished
• ended
• abolished
• terminated
• halted
• phased out
• nullified
• annulled
• annihilated
• rounded (off or out)
• wrapped up
• wound up

3

as in triggered

to cause to function

trying to start the car on a frigid morning

Synonyms & Similar Words

• triggered
• activated
• sparked
• drove
• moved
• powered
• generated
• fueled
• ignited
• ran
• set off
• provoked
• pushed
• turned on
• touched off
• actuated
• charged
• launched
• cranked (up)
• fired
• switched
• electrified
• released
• stimulated
• energized
• turned over
• excited
• reactivated
• discharged
• accelerated
• tripped
• instigated
• aroused
• kick-started
• kicked over
• incited
• recharged
• jump-started
• stirred up
• catalyzed
• quickened
• stepped up
• sped (up)
• vitalized

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• killed
• cut
• stopped
• shut off
• cut out
• turned off
• checked
• stuck
• arrested
• halted
• stalled
• cut off
• jammed
• drew up
• deactivated
• slowed
• suppressed
• stunted
• braked
• repressed
• decelerated

4

as in began

to come into existence

the fight started when one child tripped the other

Synonyms & Similar Words

• began
• commenced
• originated
• arose
• appeared
• was
• formed
• emerged
• arrived
• sprang
• dawned
• set in
• materialized
• engendered
• existed
• broke
• lived
• actualized
• continued
• lasted
• breathed
• persisted
• came on
• survived
• subsisted
• endured
• shaped (up)
• coalesced
• cohered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stopped
• ended
• ceased
• finished
• concluded
• terminated
• halted
• discontinued
• quit
• disappeared
• died
• dissolved
• vanished
• evaporated
• desisted
• departed
• expired
• passed away
• perished

5

as in protruded

to extend outward beyond a usual point

frightened horses with starting eyes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• protruded
• poked
• bulged
• swelled
• projected
• stood out
• ballooned
• stuck out
• jutted
• bunched
• billowed
• pouted
• pouched
• pooched
• extended
• bellied
• overhung
• beetled
• bagged
• stretched
• lengthened
• snowballed
• expanded
• mushroomed
• inflated
• dilated
• distended
• elongated
• blew up
• domed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• contracted
• compressed
• condensed
• shrank
• constricted

6

as in commenced

to take the first step in (a process or course of action)

we'll be ready to start the concert in a moment

Synonyms & Similar Words

• began
• commenced
• opened
• launched
• created
• fell (to)
• initiated
• entered (into or upon)
• set about
• embarked (on or upon)
• struck (into)
• got to
• got off
• organized
• got going
• established
• adopted
• led off
• generated
• originated
• founded
• kicked off
• invented
• inaugurated
• instituted
• pioneered
• spawned
• innovated
• embraced
• took up
• took on
• set up
• fathered
• got down (to)
• got around (to)
• got round (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ended
• finished
• concluded
• stopped
• terminated
• ceased
• completed
• halted
• discontinued
• quit
• laid off
• closed
• left
• abandoned
• desisted
• destroyed
• knocked off
• abolished
• extinguished
• demolished
• forsook
• phased out
• exterminated

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of started

Carolyn Hax started her Washington Post advice column in 1997, after five years on the Style desk and none as a therapist. —Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2026

The match started 90 minutes late due to rain over Hard Rock Stadium. —Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026

The beatdown started with a low crawl up King’s steep gravel driveway. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026

And while Harrell continues his rehab, newcomer Cole Gonzales has been working with the first team, along with returner Grayson Loftis, who started seven games last season. —Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026

Two families were living in both the front and back of the home when the fire started. —Jessica Riley, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026

Christie started Carter and Clifford in the backcourt with Daeqwon Plowden, Achiuwa and Maxime Raynaud in the frontcourt. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 30 Mar. 2026

Still, in regions where the most robust legal protections and protective programs have been put into place, female farmworkers say things have started to improve. —Arkansas Online, 23 Mar. 2026

This millennium, there have only been two instances (2001, 2005) when the Giants have both started and ended a season in The City. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026