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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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Recent Examples of was
According to its website, there was a buzz about Dave’s from the start.
—
Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
Even though there was a collection of quarterbacks to start games between the Bernie Kosar era and the 1996 relocation, this is where the quarterback wilderness count usually begins.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
However, there was a 24-minute period where his phone was reportedly inactive.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
There was intrigue around the new episode.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
There’s a lot of anxiety now, but there was a lot of anxiety when streaming first started.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
There was never a plan to work together per se, Benny says.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025
Represented by attorney Benjamin Levine of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Gardner argued there was no defamation.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2025
There was swift reaction to the suspension of Kimmel's show, including from former President Barack Obama and legendary late-night talk show host David Letterman, as well as others who criticized the decision as an attack on free speech.
—Phil Helsel, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2025
Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
Even though there was a collection of quarterbacks to start games between the Bernie Kosar era and the 1996 relocation, this is where the quarterback wilderness count usually begins.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
However, there was a 24-minute period where his phone was reportedly inactive.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
There was intrigue around the new episode.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
There’s a lot of anxiety now, but there was a lot of anxiety when streaming first started.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
There was never a plan to work together per se, Benny says.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025
Represented by attorney Benjamin Levine of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Gardner argued there was no defamation.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2025
There was swift reaction to the suspension of Kimmel's show, including from former President Barack Obama and legendary late-night talk show host David Letterman, as well as others who criticized the decision as an attack on free speech.
—Phil Helsel, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
Orwell was arguably the greatest psychologist of totalitarianism who ever lived.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Fort Worth was the historical homeland of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, whose people lived, hunted, and migrated through lands today called North Texas.—
Hollace Ava Weiner,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Three hundred and thirty days after Hersh was taken, her son's body was returned to her – 114 pounds on a frame that once stood six feet tall, and now, had six wounds.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Officers have stood guard at the yellow police tape around the clock since Sunday.—
John Wisely,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Both teams are currently ranked in the top 10, and as is well-documented, Franklin has struggled in such games.—
Cameron Teague Robinson,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Out of more than 80 potential options for what makes sports fun, winning never ranked higher than 40th.—
Jonathan Carone,
Parents,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
What happened next, according to first responders, Jasper's aunt Amber Rosen, churchgoers, hospital officials and family members of those impacted, is a blur of violence and terror with the pop-pop-pop of an assault weapon and thick black smoke from fire hanging in the air.—
Georgea Kovanis,
Freep.com,
5 Oct. 2025
-
The Canes have beaten Florida and Florida State in back-to-back years; that hasn’t happened since 2001-04.—
Manny Navarro,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The lawyers the Herald spoke with said that was because it was not known what the process was, nor was it known that the inbox even existed.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Anyway, if such an award existed, Kevin De Bruyne has staked an early claim which will be tough to top over the tournament’s remaining eight months.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
2 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
-
Before referrals were halted, the effort that placed people at the Civic had already moved hard-to-reach homeless people from the street to a shelter space and, in many cases, then on to long-term housing and stability.—
Ashley Hiruko,
ProPublica,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The officer took Wallen's wrist and placed the country singer under arrest.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
6 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 8 Oct. 2025.
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