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
In between acts, there was a dance intermission featuring background dancers, including a solo female dancer performing a contemporary piece, before the stage opened to a full dance performance.
—
Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Detectives did not indicate that there was any connection between the two incidents.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Maybe there was even a stag film.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
There was another scare for the Bruins at the back end late in the period.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
There was also the possibility of the Panthers activating interior offensive lineman Chandler Zavala ahead of Saturday’s game.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 10 Jan. 2026
Years later, in June 2023, the FBI and the Department of Justice said there was no credible evidence of foul play in his death, according to a DOJ report.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Park hailed the resilience of the community, and how residents organized block by block when there was no roadmap for recovery, and insurance and bureaucratic processes felt impossible to navigate alone.
—City News Service, Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
Longtime Seattle residents can remember a time in the not-so-distant past when there wasn’t much going on in South Lake Union—that was until the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen kickstarted development in the area earlier this century.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 9 Jan. 2026
Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Detectives did not indicate that there was any connection between the two incidents.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Maybe there was even a stag film.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
There was another scare for the Bruins at the back end late in the period.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
There was also the possibility of the Panthers activating interior offensive lineman Chandler Zavala ahead of Saturday’s game.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 10 Jan. 2026
Years later, in June 2023, the FBI and the Department of Justice said there was no credible evidence of foul play in his death, according to a DOJ report.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Park hailed the resilience of the community, and how residents organized block by block when there was no roadmap for recovery, and insurance and bureaucratic processes felt impossible to navigate alone.
—City News Service, Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
Longtime Seattle residents can remember a time in the not-so-distant past when there wasn’t much going on in South Lake Union—that was until the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen kickstarted development in the area earlier this century.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
Archaeologists recently found a large Roman industrial complex in northern England — along with hundreds of tools, offering rare insight into how Romans lived and worked.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Sherrill thought maybe her sister, who lived nearby, had taken Shannon to the store.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Punsalan, sliding across the ice, wrecked, while Swallow stood triumphant.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
-
China’s military leadership stood before the nation in March 2023, an image of unity behind Xi Jinping.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Netflix does not publicly release detailed viewership data, but Treviño said his special ranked among the platform’s top comedy offerings that debuted that year.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
UConn is 22-1, has won 18 in a row, is 7-0 in true road games, ranked third in the nation, and the coach is no longer lamenting a lack of killer instinct, but showing the lack of respect card.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The cause of the accident, which happened shortly before noon in good weather, was not immediately clear.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The water reaching the Lower Basin will probably fall below that point later this year or next, which has never happened, said Brenda Burman, general manager of the Central Arizona Project.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Long one of the most beautiful ways to preserve produce, candying has existed in some form as far back as ancient China and Rome.—
Hannah Walhout,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
3 Feb. 2026
-
The Islamic Republic rejected pre-Islamic Persian history, as if nothing of value had existed in Persia before Islam.—
Shahrnush Parsipur,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
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
-
Clase is accused of throwing suspicious pitches to benefit those who placed wagers on him in at least 48 games, according to ESPN.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Smith unexpectedly resigned last week and Cherry Creek Schools placed his wife, Brenda Smith, the district’s chief human resources officer, on administrative leave earlier this week without explanation.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
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 Feb. 2026.
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