Synonyms of starting

starting 1 of 2

adjective

as in beginning

Related Words

• beginning
• initial
• opening
• first
• earliest
• pioneer
• original
• inaugural
• foremost
• maiden
• primary
• leadoff
• headmost
• eminent
• premier
• superior

Dissimilar Words

• last
• final
• latter
• concluding
• latest
• following
• terminal
• ultimate
• succeeding
• lag
• closing
• terminating
• eventual
• ensuing
• consequent
• rearmost
• hindmost
• bottommost
• crowning
• decisive
• conclusive
• definitive

starting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of start

1

as in jumping

to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise)

I started from my chair when I heard the sudden scream

Synonyms & Similar Words

• jumping
• leaping
• cringing
• wincing
• startling
• bolting
• flinching
• twitching
• jerking
• reacting
• responding
• springing
• shrinking
• recoiling
• jolting
• bounding
• blenching
• spooking
• quailing
• squinching

2

as in establishing

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

started the impressionist movement in art

Synonyms & Similar Words

• establishing
• founding
• initiating
• launching
• introducing
• creating
• beginning
• pioneering
• instituting
• inaugurating
• planting
• constructing
• constituting
• originating
• organizing
• innovating
• developing
• producing
• setting up
• inventing
• devising
• manufacturing
• authoring
• expanding
• thinking (up)
• cooking (up)
• conceiving
• funding
• enlarging
• financing
• making up
• concocting
• subsidizing
• fathering
• arranging
• contriving
• fabricating
• endowing
• relaunching
• systematizing
• reinitiating
• reinstituting
• putting up
• refounding
• systemizing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• closing (down)
• shutting (up)
• ending
• finishing
• abolishing
• phasing out
• stopping
• terminating
• halting
• nullifying
• annihilating
• annulling
• winding up
• rounding (off or out)
• wrapping up

3

as in activating

to cause to function

trying to start the car on a frigid morning

Synonyms & Similar Words

• activating
• triggering
• sparking
• driving
• moving
• generating
• powering
• fueling
• running
• pushing
• setting off
• igniting
• turning on
• charging
• provoking
• touching off
• launching
• actuating
• firing
• cranking (up)
• switching
• releasing
• electrifying
• energizing
• turning over
• stimulating
• accelerating
• tripping
• discharging
• reactivating
• exciting
• kicking over
• recharging
• inciting
• kick-starting
• instigating
• stirring up
• jump-starting
• quickening
• arousing
• catalyzing
• stepping up
• vitalizing
• speeding (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cutting
• killing
• stopping
• checking
• sticking
• cutting out
• shutting off
• turning off
• halting
• arresting
• cutting off
• stalling
• braking
• drawing up
• slowing
• jamming
• deactivating
• suppressing
• repressing
• decelerating
• stunting

4

as in commencing

to come into existence

the fight started when one child tripped the other

Synonyms & Similar Words

• beginning
• commencing
• originating
• appearing
• arising
• being
• forming
• arriving
• emerging
• springing
• existing
• living
• breaking
• dawning
• continuing
• actualizing
• materializing
• setting in
• lasting
• engendering
• breathing
• surviving
• coming on
• subsisting
• persisting
• shaping (up)
• coalescing
• enduring
• cohering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ending
• stopping
• ceasing
• finishing
• terminating
• concluding
• discontinuing
• halting
• quitting
• disappearing
• vanishing
• dying
• dissolving
• evaporating
• departing
• desisting
• expiring
• passing away
• perishing

5

as in protruding

to extend outward beyond a usual point

frightened horses with starting eyes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• protruding
• poking
• projecting
• bulging
• standing out
• swelling
• jutting
• sticking out
• bunching
• extending
• pouting
• billowing
• ballooning
• overhanging
• bagging
• bellying
• pooching
• pouching
• stretching
• beetling
• expanding
• lengthening
• inflating
• snowballing
• mushrooming
• dilating
• distending
• doming
• elongating
• blowing up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• contracting
• shrinking
• condensing
• compressing
• constricting

6

as in launching

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

• beginning
• commencing
• launching
• opening
• falling (to)
• creating
• entering (into or upon)
• initiating
• striking (into)
• embarking (on or upon)
• getting off
• organizing
• generating
• getting to
• originating
• establishing
• getting going
• leading off
• adopting
• setting about
• kicking off
• inventing
• inaugurating
• founding
• instituting
• spawning
• innovating
• pioneering
• embracing
• taking up
• taking on
• fathering
• setting up
• getting down (to)
• getting around (to)
• getting round (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ending
• finishing
• stopping
• terminating
• concluding
• ceasing
• discontinuing
• completing
• halting
• closing
• leaving
• quitting
• laying off
• abandoning
• destroying
• desisting
• knocking off
• abolishing
• forsaking
• extinguishing
• exterminating
• demolishing
• phasing out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of starting

Adjective

He was thrust into the starting lineup Thursday and was suffering from back spasms as late as Saturday. — Josh Kendall, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026

Miami moved safety Bryce Fitzgerald to outside cornerback and inserted freshman JJ Dunnigan into the starting lineup for his first career start. — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026

Thomas was in the starting lineup to play left field and bat sixth for a game against the Rays but was scratched before first pitch. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 10 Sep. 2026

With a right-hander on the mound, that prompted Padres manager Craig Stammen to give rookie Ethan Salas the start at DH, just his second time in the starting lineup since last week’s call-up. — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Perhaps Clark’s play will vault her into the starting lineup down the road. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Both moved into the starting lineup late in their freshman seasons and provided a spark in victories over Washington and Illinois last year. — Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

The 6-foot-6, 308-pounder was at Wisconsin from 2020-24 before finishing at Illinois last season and entering the 49ers’ defensive-line rotation this season, perhaps even usurping Alfred Collins in the starting lineup next to Osa Odighizuwa. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2026

Their starting lineup has also remained largely unchanged for two games, though David Larrubia did not start against Deportivo, but was substituted in. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026

Verb

Now, the French designer is channeling that affection for the landscape into ASerra, a new hotel and residential development in Melides with 22 private villas starting at $6 million. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 17 Sep. 2026

Below, shop similar sweaters plus more styles to recreate Alba’s whole look at Nordstrom, starting at just $30. — Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026

Although Peacock doesn’t currently offer a free trial, viewers can get Peacock Premium through select partner subscriptions, starting with DirecTV, which offers two free months of Peacock with any of its Signature packages. — Camila Quimper, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

Under the proposal, violations would be civil offenses with fines starting at $100. — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

By now, the months leading up to the ceremony—starting with the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where Anora won the Palme d’Or—are one big, bewildering blur to her. — Marley Marius, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026

Kevin Danso, who closed the season as his starting centre-back, and Cristian Romero have been replaced in the starting line-up by Jan Paul van Hecke, a classy but less physically dominant defender than the outgoers. — Elias Burke, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

But just as at any school, the students are then split into many more subcultures, starting with those in the co-ops—student-run living and dining communities that essentially stand in for Greek life. — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

For Jessica, that story of starting with relatively little and building something through persistence has been central to her family’s ethos. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026