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.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of was
The ruling did not address whether there was enough cause to remove Cook, based on the fraud allegations brought forth by the administration.
—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
Police said, according to WBNS, that there was a history of domestic violence in the relationship, and it is believed to be the cause of Creech's death.
—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
There was an active arrest warrant for the man for fleeing and eluding, Tony said, and DNA samples had tied him to multiple other crimes.
—
Angie Dimichele,
Sun Sentinel,
30 June 2026
New Jersey seemed to have forgot, because there was no reaction to this line.
—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
But after the 2020 election, CISA, which is a nonpartisan agency, came out and said there was no interference in the 2020 election.
—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
29 June 2026
After the verdict, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement that her office decided to charge Pino with a felony after determining that there was sufficient evidence that Pino’s actions were reckless, although the jury ultimately disagreed.
—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
Insiders say if the studio didn’t have a film close to pre-production in the next six months, there was a strong chance the Lego rights could lapse and head back to market.
—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
There was enough notice for other cast members to swing by and pay their respects, too.
—
Josh Wigler,
HollywoodReporter,
22 June 2026
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
Police said, according to WBNS, that there was a history of domestic violence in the relationship, and it is believed to be the cause of Creech's death.
—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
There was an active arrest warrant for the man for fleeing and eluding, Tony said, and DNA samples had tied him to multiple other crimes.
—
Angie Dimichele,
Sun Sentinel,
30 June 2026
New Jersey seemed to have forgot, because there was no reaction to this line.
—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
But after the 2020 election, CISA, which is a nonpartisan agency, came out and said there was no interference in the 2020 election.
—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
29 June 2026
After the verdict, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement that her office decided to charge Pino with a felony after determining that there was sufficient evidence that Pino’s actions were reckless, although the jury ultimately disagreed.
—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
Insiders say if the studio didn’t have a film close to pre-production in the next six months, there was a strong chance the Lego rights could lapse and head back to market.
—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
There was enough notice for other cast members to swing by and pay their respects, too.
—
Josh Wigler,
HollywoodReporter,
22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
The reason may be the ongoing renovations taking place at Buckingham Palace, but even when those are completed, the King may opt to remain in Clarence House, the London residence where he's lived since the early 2000s.
-
Conversations move comfortably between entrepreneurship, investment, business strategy, customer experience, innovation, accessibility, and lived experience.
Verb
-
In the following two years, officials project thousands of additional job reductions in a workforce that this year stood at 83,000.
-
Mother stood apart from other vegetarian and vegan places in that Venditti only used whole ingredients, no alt foods.
Verb
-
Professional attire ranked second.
-
According to a new report that tracks pedestrian deaths across the nation, the Miami metro area, which includes Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, ranked as the 17th most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians.
Verb
-
This year, that refill never happened.
-
Martinez has shared a different version of what happened.
Verb
-
In the three years between Special and Bitch, Lizzo began bracing herself for a sharp decline in public interest by creating music that existed on the outskirts of what audiences came to know her for.
-
The Houston Aeros played in the AHL from 2001-13 (and previously existed in various other forms, too).
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.
-
The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.
Verb
-
The score generated with the device placed it among the top five in a class of over 100 students, significantly exceeding the average score of 72.
-
Dustin Struckman, a deputy with the Nicollet County Sheriff's Office who was also involved in the incident, have both been placed on critical incident leave.
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.
-
All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.
Cite this Entry
“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
