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

Then Patrick Mahomes started to look healthier, and Kenneth Walker III took off on what appears to be, through five games, an MVP-level campaign. — Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026

Whereas Friday’s game was over by halftime, this game was just getting started. — Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026

But without fresh money coming from the prospective initial public offerings of Anthropic and OpenAI to allow those AI labs to keep paying their own bills, people started to worry about CoreWeave's ability to service its debt. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2026

The Atlanta Braves should have started Chris Sale in Game 2 of the division series against the Dodgers. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

The Dolphins started quickly, marching 76 yards on seven plays and taking their first lead in any game this season on Willis' 7-yard touchdown pass to Douglas. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026

The Bears-Falcons under was looking great until Ben Johnson started resting defensive starters in the fourth quarter. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack. — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026

Once the animals had learned to associate each of the six scents with a particular reward location, researchers started swapping the scent-location pairs. — Sean McCabe, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026