WINDED UP Synonyms: 64 Similar and Opposite Words

wound up

verb

variants also winded up

past tense of wind up

as in ended

to bring (an event) to a natural or appropriate stopping point try to wind up the performance, as we're almost out of time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stopped

to come to an end her speeches usually wind up with one last joke

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 wound up The gigs last year also wound up being some of the last the Grateful Dead offshoot band would ever play due to Bob Weir’s death in January. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026 Carroll wound up living with Newton-John and her mother in their Hampstead mews apartment for two years. — Michelle Duncan, Architectural Digest, 26 Sep. 2026 There’s a guy who wound up dying under mysterious circumstances that makes up part of him. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026 Shipley wound up with a 69 and tied for third with Ricky Castillo (65), three shots behind. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026 Tampa Bay wound up blitzing 46% of their defensive snaps, which ranked third-most in the league. — Rick Stroud, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026 The university wound up getting the vast majority of the works on its wish list, the source said. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Sep. 2026 How Chrissie Hynde wound up being that kind of songwriter is anyone’s guess. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 Hairston wound up with 71 of the 81 possible plays against the Texans. — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wound up

Verb

Over the course of Next Gen NYC’s season, which ended this past week, the model Ava Dash grabs a slice of pizza on Fulton Street; strolls through the Seaport; and calls her father, the hip-hop mogul Damon Dash, from a bench at Pier 17.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 29 Sep. 2026
But the optics changed for James — a four-time NBA champion who has won titles with three different teams — once the Knicks ended their drought without needing his help.

— Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of ended

Verb

When Beck finished, his lawyer asked Leigh to follow her to the table to sign some paperwork.

— Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Then there’s the Beyond Speyside series that launched last year with Jamaica Edition, a whisky that was aged for 12 years and then finished in rum barrels sourced from that Caribbean island nation.

— Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of finished

Verb

The grand jury and Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath both concluded those allegations were baseless.

— Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
The first phase of the competition concluded in late August, with all 25,000 relationships between polynomials and symmetry groups realized.

— Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of concluded

Verb

After 10 loud snores and two that were nearly inaudible, all movement ceased.

— MICHAEL GRACZYK, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
No, this wasn’t a major ordeal during the game, with both teams adapting during the moments in which communication ceased for a few seconds, but the concern is still valid.

— Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of ceased

Verb

Attorneys on Thursday wrapped up their arguments in a civil case against Sacramento Kings minority owner Phil Oates filed by the widow of a motorcyclist who died in a traffic collision with the businessman in a suburban neighborhood.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
The World Cup wrapped up on July 19 and the Premier League kicked off just over a month later.

— Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of wrapped up

Verb

Following the coach’s firing in July 2023, more than 260 Northwestern faculty members signed a petition calling for the stadium plans to be halted until at least athletic department’s problems could be sorted out.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2026
While the ceasefire halted the heaviest fighting and humanitarian conditions have improved, the Israeli military has expanded its control of Gaza and now occupies some 60% of the territory.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of halted

Browse Nearby Words

wounds

wound up

wove

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Wound up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wound%20up. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of wound up

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

argot

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes