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
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
If there was the intention to strengthen in central defence with Jaka Bijol, should that have heralded the right moment to generate more room in the transfer budget with Struijk’s sale?
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 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
From 2016 to 2024, there was a notable increase in mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, which passed a law allowing no-excuse absentee voting in 2019.
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
There was still significant pushback to the drugs amongst survey respondents, with 73 percent of Americans saying GLP-1s are a shortcut to weight loss.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
While some clarity was given, there was still plenty of ambiguity surrounding starters at several key position battles.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025
There was a time when software pricing lived in a spreadsheet, far from the product itself.
—Chris Kent, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
If there was the intention to strengthen in central defence with Jaka Bijol, should that have heralded the right moment to generate more room in the transfer budget with Struijk’s sale?
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 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
From 2016 to 2024, there was a notable increase in mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, which passed a law allowing no-excuse absentee voting in 2019.
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
There was still significant pushback to the drugs amongst survey respondents, with 73 percent of Americans saying GLP-1s are a shortcut to weight loss.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
While some clarity was given, there was still plenty of ambiguity surrounding starters at several key position battles.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025
There was a time when software pricing lived in a spreadsheet, far from the product itself.
—Chris Kent, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
Since Missouri moved from the Big 12 to the SEC on July 1, 2012, the program has lived quite a second life in the South.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Becoming a saint In the Catholic faith, sainthood is reserved for those who have lived a life of heroic virtues, offered their life for others or died for their faith, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.—
Lauren Costantino
September 6,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
To end the game, the Panther defense stood tall.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Sep. 2025
-
As the Republican candidate stood on the fifth-hole putting green, a Secret Service agent was riding a golf cart in a security sweep of the sixth hole and noticed someone hiding behind a chain-link fence in the southeast corner of the course.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In 2007, Kansas was picked to play in the Orange Bowl over Mizzou, even though the Tigers were ranked higher and had won the head-to-head matchup in the final week of the regular season.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
-
His 151 carries ranked sixth, while his 631 rushing yards ranked seventh.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Out of 34 matchups between FBS teams that have been played at least 110 times, Mizzou-Kansas is one of two that hasn’t happened the past two seasons.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Eight of the top ten drawings happened this decade.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Like most extended car warranty providers, CarShield excludes pre-existing conditions that existed before your warranty took effect, as well as damage resulting from poor maintenance, neglect or intentional abuse.—
Brian Sloan,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Physicists say the results show the experiment is ready to investigate quark-gluon plasma, an exotic state of matter that existed moments after the Big Bang.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
4 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
-
Because of that, great stock is placed on the pictures and videos that are taken with a smartphone.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The board placed the task of arts grants distribution into the hands of the Parks and Culture Committee and decided to transition its distribution formula to one that divided the total pot of arts funding allocated in the county budget equally among all qualified groups, Tarantino said.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
8 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 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share