Synonyms of being

being 1 of 3

adjective

as in breathing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• breathing
• existing
• existent
• living
• modern
• recent
• present
• contemporary
• newfangled
• up-to-date
• modernistic
• new
• mod
• ultramodern
• current
• extant
• ongoing
• space-age
• supermodern
• new-fashioned
• red-hot
• present-day
• instant
• immediate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• future
• coming
• over
• unborn
• terminated
• up
• through
• finished
• ended
• completed
• done
• old
• concluded
• obsolete
• past
• ancient
• former
• archaic
• dated
• antiquated
• out-of-date
• antique
• old-time
• old-fashioned
• outworn
• antediluvian
• erstwhile
• musty
• bygone
• ago
• passé
• fusty
• noncontemporary
• oldfangled

being

2 of 3

noun

ˈbē(-i)ŋ 

1

as in person

a member of the human race

no one has the right to enslave another being

Synonyms & Similar Words

• person
• life
• man
• guy
• creature
• thing
• individual
• human
• sort
• human being
• bird
• soul
• body
• customer
• fish
• party
• baby
• duck
• character
• specimen
• egg
• face
• mortal
• scout
• devil
• personage
• personality
• cookie
• cooky
• fellow
• stiff
• head
• bod
• slob
• wight
• son of man
• self
• somebody
• brother
• homo
• neighbor
• celebrity
• hominid
• humanoid
• fellowman

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• animal
• beast
• brute
• critter
• beastie

2

as in object

one that has a real and independent existence

new parents are typically in awe at having created this separate being

Synonyms & Similar Words

• object
• entity
• reality
• substance
• something
• thing
• individual
• commodity
• subject
• existent
• body
• individuality
• matter
• material
• integer
• quantity
• stuff

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonentity

3

as in essence

the quality or qualities that make a thing what it is

music is such a large part of her being that she could never give up performing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• essence
• nature
• substance
• soul
• manifestation
• stuff
• heart
• name of the game
• core
• aspect
• essentiality
• property
• center
• quintessence
• spirit
• feature
• attribute
• incarnation
• personification
• quiddity
• marrow
• seat
• epitome
• keynote
• pith
• kernel
• embodiment
• gist
• alpha and omega
• nub

being

3 of 3

verb

present participle of be

1

as in living

to have life

stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• living
• existing
• ruling
• breathing
• surviving
• subsisting
• continuing
• flourishing
• kicking
• leading
• keeping (on)
• enduring
• lasting
• persisting
• abiding
• moving
• holding on
• running on
• thriving
• holding up
• prospering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dying
• departing
• succumbing
• expiring
• disappearing
• perishing
• vanishing
• evaporating
• passing away
• ending
• stopping
• ceasing
• quitting
• discontinuing
• dying (down)
• subsiding
• waning
• moderating
• ebbing
• abating
• desisting
• letting up

2

as in sitting

to occupy a place or location

we'll be there waiting for you

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sitting
• standing
• lying
• remaining
• residing
• waiting
• resting
• staying
• bearing
• awaiting
• overlooking
• posting
• commanding
• hanging around
• sticking around
• tarrying
• dwelling
• stationing

3

as in ranking

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

• ranking
• placing
• standing
• rating
• grading
• seeding
• counting
• classifying
• separating
• grouping
• categorizing
• sorting
• installing
• classing
• setting
• codifying
• compartmentalizing
• instating

4

as in happening

to take place

the party is next Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

• happening
• coming
• occurring
• doing
• passing
• cooking
• coming down
• transpiring
• coming off
• going on
• coming about
• going down
• chancing
• befalling
• happing
• betiding
• rising
• developing
• coming to pass
• arising
• proceeding
• resulting
• materializing
• shaping (up)
• intervening
• following
• coming up
• breaking
• springing (up)
• cropping (up)
• falling out
• turning out
• going off

Examples of being in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Photograph courtesy the author My first reaction is to try to discern beings in the shapes of the objects, as if in a Rorschach test whose inkblots have been replaced by pieces of clothing and lingerie. —Annie Ernaux, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024

For the time being, those tracking the case and Murdaugh himself will have to wait and see. —Michael M. Dewitt, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024

Chefs create culinary art, while teachers nurture young beings into maturity — perhaps the highest form of creative mastery. —Victoria Chynoweth, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2024

Many Americans with siblings may consider being (or having) an only child as undesirable, disadvantageous, even unnatural. —Charley Locke, Vox, 12 Aug. 2024

Phrases Containing being

• Supreme Being
• being (as or as how or that)
• for the time being
• human being