1
as in lived
to have life
stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in ranked
to take or have a certain position within a group arranged in vertical classes
our school's football team is first in its division
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in happened
to take place
the party is next Saturday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of was
There was a spirit of abundance and joy, too; that can’t be remiss.
—
Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
While there was a spin-off OVA in the late ‘80s, which Izubuchi designed the mecha for, there were also two Aura Phantasm artbooks released by B-Club around the same time.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
When Cochrane died in 1913, at 74, from complications following a stroke, there was a growing commercial market for dishwashers in the United States.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
My mom came from bad financial circumstances and you get used to (the money) and there was a stature to it.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
There was Bader’s spectacular catch toward the end of the game.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
But with an encouraging slate of opponents upcoming, there’s more hope for this Cowboys team to make a push for the playoffs today than there was yesterday.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
In a new study, women with Alzheimer’s had lower levels of omega-3s, and there was no difference in men.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
While there was a spin-off OVA in the late ‘80s, which Izubuchi designed the mecha for, there were also two Aura Phantasm artbooks released by B-Club around the same time.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
When Cochrane died in 1913, at 74, from complications following a stroke, there was a growing commercial market for dishwashers in the United States.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
My mom came from bad financial circumstances and you get used to (the money) and there was a stature to it.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
There was Bader’s spectacular catch toward the end of the game.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
But with an encouraging slate of opponents upcoming, there’s more hope for this Cowboys team to make a push for the playoffs today than there was yesterday.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
In a new study, women with Alzheimer’s had lower levels of omega-3s, and there was no difference in men.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
South Florida has lived these lousy afternoons all week — and Friday’s forecast calls for more of the same.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Steve has more than 40 years of food industry experience in his native Hong Kong and in the Bay Area, where the couple lived and owned various eateries for two decades.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After the plane touched down, a motorcade stood ready to escort Kirk's casket to Hansen Mortuary Chapel near Seventh Street and Northern Avenue.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Witherspoon stood on a trail next to a bike, wearing a pair of army green hiking pants without a wrinkle in sight.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In 2024, Nepal ranked 107th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, with 84% of people perceiving government corruption to be a major problem.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
-
The two-time Olympic champion enters this year’s championships ranked fourth in the world.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Kirk assassination angers and unsettles leaders, residents The assassination of Kirk, which happened in front of hundreds of people and was captured on video and widely circulated on social media, has in particular rattled the nation and drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum.—
Mark Vancleave,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
-
This is mirroring exactly what happened with Mugen Train, and those audience scores are currently sitting at a 99%.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In other words, nearly 2 million jobs that were ostensibly created under the second half of Biden’s presidency never actually existed.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Selling gold seemed like a straightforward experience; after all, it's existed for quite literally thousands of years.—
Brandon Aversano,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.—
Amanda Rosa,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
-
The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Leotlela and Simbine placed fifth and seventh to show South Africa’s sprint dominance.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Then, in January 2025, the government introduced a Social Media Bill that placed further requirements on social media platforms.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
7 Aug. 2025
-
All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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