as in milestone
a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs
a watershed moment in her life came when she inherited a reasonable sum of money and was able to start her own coffee shop
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in pivotal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of watershed
Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 19 May 2026
That day was a watershed in my life.
—Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026
Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 May 2026
Maher cited Walmart’s recent updates to its policies regarding Sparky, its own AI shopping agent, as a watershed moment for the industry.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Noun
The funding will also be used for competitive grants for non-profits, community organizations and local government projects to restore the watershed.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 19 May 2026
That day was a watershed in my life.
—Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026
Adjective
The move turned out to be a watershed moment for Mansoori, who caught the bug.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 May 2026
Maher cited Walmart’s recent updates to its policies regarding Sparky, its own AI shopping agent, as a watershed moment for the industry.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
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Plus, there are plenty of other important updates coming our way this week, from influential tech conferences to jobs data and spin-off milestones.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,Zev Fima,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
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Expanding domestic graphitization capacity therefore represents a significant industrial milestone in itself.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Trivia questions, the barrier for entry, center around pivotal women in history.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
-
That makes their result a pivotal statement not only about the chemistry that supports life, but also about whether quantum computers are needed to understand it.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 May 2026
Noun
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The political overshadow of Hernandez's high school career reached its climax during championship weekend, with the athlete appearing in a video with Democrat California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer on the morning of the CIF championship preliminary round on Friday.—
Jackson Thompson OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2026
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And this represents the climax of the film, when Thompson (Kathryn Fairly in the movie) must pilot the shuttle during peak heating.—
Eric Berger & Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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An epochal moment arrived in 2011, in the era of the mommy blog, when the then popular website Moms Who Need Wine teamed up with the California Wine Club for a subscription program known as the Wine Mom Series.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
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Its demographics have also undergone an epochal shift.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Nearby, a little girl splashed in the fountain beneath the landmark flagpole overlooking South Livermore Avenue.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
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The landmark program provides funding to cover nine months of childcare and is open to emerging and mid-career artists raising a child under the age of three.—
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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In a decisive upset, Democrat John Forbes won his party’s nomination in the June 2 primary election for Polk County supervisor in District 1, unseating incumbent Matt McCoy.—
Virginia Barreda,
Des Moines Register,
3 June 2026
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Because more than 70 percent of voters supported other candidates in the first round, both Fujimori and Sánchez have sought to broaden their appeal ahead of the decisive vote.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This has not been a stellar season for Newcastle, and, relative to the momentous collective achievements of his first full season as captain, Guimaraes and his side have not scaled the same heights.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
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The 2026 AMAs were a momentous occasion for '90s and early-aughts enthusiasts, with performances from Hootie & the Blowfish (nearly 30 years since their last American Music Award), The Pussycat Dolls, Busta Rhymes and New Kids on the Block.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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