as in beginning
the point at which something begins
there was a large turnout at the commencement of the conference, but the numbers dwindled as it progressed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 commencement
Last spring, school after school struggled to keep their commencements from careening into controversial territory.
—
Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Since the commencement of Phase 1 of the hostage-ceasefire deal on Jan. 19, more than 25,000 trucks have entered Gaza (about 600 per day), carrying a total of 57,000 tons of food.
—William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, delivered the spring commencement speech last year.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2025
Oscar winner Jane Fonda will deliver USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism commencement speech as its 2025 keynote speaker, the school announced today.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commencement
Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Since the commencement of Phase 1 of the hostage-ceasefire deal on Jan. 19, more than 25,000 trucks have entered Gaza (about 600 per day), carrying a total of 57,000 tons of food.
—William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, delivered the spring commencement speech last year.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2025
Oscar winner Jane Fonda will deliver USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism commencement speech as its 2025 keynote speaker, the school announced today.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commencement
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commencement
Noun
-
At the beginning of last year, Del Rey shared a snippet of the ballad without any context.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
11 Apr. 2025
-
And that started our connection even from the beginning.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
With his win last year, Scheffler joined Horton Smith as the only two golfers to earn his first two Masters wins in five or fewer starts.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Walmart stock was off to a hot start Wednesday morning, climbing 4 points (5.0%) in the first hour of trading.—
Kevin Ryan,
Quartz,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
For those seeking less volatility than individual stocks, consider the High-Quality portfolio, which has outperformed the S&P 500 and delivered returns of over 91% since its inception.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Since its inception, the event has grown while maintaining the welcoming feel of peeking into someone’s life and design style.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
More importantly, failing to articulate an acceptable mistake at the onset will leave your team without the language to define which levers were most important to drive business goals.—
Rebecca Shaddix,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
-
For example, in 2020, markets saw their second-worst day of the year on March 12 at the onset of the Covid pandemic.—
Lorie Konish,
CNBC,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The launch collection will consist of around 14 pieces, ranging from sports bras and tops to shorts, leggings, sweatpants, hoodies and lightweight outerwear.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
10 Apr. 2025
-
That’s quite a strong performance for the series, which had already landed among the top three launches in Paramount+ history, alongside Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 and Landman — all of which have been major hits for producers Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commencement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commencement. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share