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
As in years past, there was plenty of heated debate, some clever campaigning on social media, a last-minute push for votes from A-list significant others and a few races that were neck-and-neck right up until the last ballot was cast.
—
Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
In backrooms, there was none of the surveillance tech that reputable casinos use to catch players cheating.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
There was some time, too, reserved for her Netflix series.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
There was one particular pass that stuck in the mind.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
There was an acrimonious lawsuit filed in 1988 on Buoniconti’s behalf against the school and its trainer and team doctor, both sides blaming the other.
—Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Authorities said there was no indication of drug or alcohol use by the man at the time of incident, adding neither Roseville police nor the sheriff's office had any prior contact with him.
—Christina Hall, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
There was no life left that wasn’t loveless, anymore, Qing Yuan thought.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
There was this one show at the North Star Bar [in Philadelphia].
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
In backrooms, there was none of the surveillance tech that reputable casinos use to catch players cheating.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
There was some time, too, reserved for her Netflix series.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
There was one particular pass that stuck in the mind.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
There was an acrimonious lawsuit filed in 1988 on Buoniconti’s behalf against the school and its trainer and team doctor, both sides blaming the other.
—Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Authorities said there was no indication of drug or alcohol use by the man at the time of incident, adding neither Roseville police nor the sheriff's office had any prior contact with him.
—Christina Hall, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
There was no life left that wasn’t loveless, anymore, Qing Yuan thought.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
There was this one show at the North Star Bar [in Philadelphia].
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
The following day, Kidman filed for divorce in Nashville, where the former couple had lived since 2007.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Perdue has lived a double life—having access to immense privilege and money from two business empires, while holding down a regular job and living frugally.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The droplets had plenty of time to collect, as Guerrero stood on base in the bottom of the first inning.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Quinnipiac found that in the earlier four-way contest, Adams had 12 percent while Cuomo stood at 23 percent.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That’s also the last time the Commodores were ranked in the top 10.—
The Athletic College Football Staff,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
He is currently ranked 22nd in the Schwab Cup standings.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
And they’re not allowed to do that because of what happened (on Olivier’s hit).—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
This happened when Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina last year.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
And never mind that there is an actual anti-fascist movement, not only in Europe, but one that’s existed in the United States.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
-
And this is a very important Esther season and a really big complicated story for her, that couldn’t have existed first season.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
23 Oct. 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
-
They were placed there by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after being deemed unsuitable for wild release.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Earnest, the indictment states, then shared the info with another bettor, who in turn shared it with others, resulting in multiple bets being placed on the game, worth about $100,000.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
26 Oct. 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 29 Oct. 2025.
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