as in former
having been such at some previous time
the once child star is now a lawyer in the entertainment industry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in when
just at the moment that
you should have stopped wrestling once you knew someone was getting hurt, not five minutes later
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of once
Joshua Coleman and Will Johnson, TIME, 13 Dec. 2024
But once winter hits, our eating habits change, and people tend to gravitate towards more caloric foods that help keep them warm.
—Leyre Moreno, Glamour, 13 Dec. 2024
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 May 2024
At last, the American people would positively embrace, not just passively accept, the once abstract primacist mission.
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 17 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for once 
Adverb
While this once applied only to those working in government and politics, increasingly family members feel compelled to declare their loyalties, too.
—Joshua Coleman and Will Johnson, TIME, 13 Dec. 2024
But once winter hits, our eating habits change, and people tend to gravitate towards more caloric foods that help keep them warm.
—Leyre Moreno, Glamour, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
The once Adonis-like Gere, so gorgeous and opaque in Schrader’s American Gigolo, released 44 years ago, here makes for an engagingly pissy guide through Fife’s current physical challenges and his lifetime of passive regret.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 May 2024
At last, the American people would positively embrace, not just passively accept, the once abstract primacist mission.
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 17 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for once
Recent Examples of Synonyms for once
Adverb
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In footage shared on X, formerly Twitter, by supporter Michael Solakiewicz (@michaelsolakiewicz), Trump's hair appears noticeably shorter and/or more compact than is usually the case.Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
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These ingredients are crafted by Scottish distiller Shane Fraser, who formerly was distillery manager of the Scottish distillery Wolfburn.Erik Ofgang, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Trump said he's taken more than 100 congratulatory calls from his former and future counterparts since the November election.Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024
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Lake, a former TV broadcaster who narrowly lost the 2022 gubernatorial race, has been a prominent surrogate for Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing in Iowa and New Hampshire, and has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick.Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The show skips across the decades, dramatizing the interviews an older Dolours (Maxine Peake) did for a Boston College oral history of the Troubles, which were taped with the promise that they would be released only after participants’ deaths.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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By contrast, the prospect of citizenships and alliances—and perhaps conquests or crusades—structured around the opinions, beliefs, and subjective identities of ordinary people in times of peace would require a new (or very old) conception of empire.Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Arsenal made overtures and given other interest around him, Villa regarded his acquisition a significant coup.Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
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Join 1 other in the comments View Comments CNN has reached out to these companies, along with Stanley, for comment on the nationwide recall.Karina Tsui, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In the gray daylight of the first days of Syria’s freedom, its citizens appear so far to be behaving not like unrestrained madmen but like traumatized, decent people worthy of their liberty, delivered even by an erstwhile jihadist.Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2024
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Advertisement The rapid advance by insurgents is a stunning reversal of fortunes for Syria’s President Bashar Assad, who appears to be largely on his own, with erstwhile allies preoccupied with other conflicts.Bassem Mroue, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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On Tuesday, as prosecutors in New York City sought to extradite Mangione following his arrest Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection to last week’s shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, clues about past health problems were emerging.Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024
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While speaking with Time magazine, which selected the prolific piano man as its 2024 Icon of the Year, John opened up about his past drug use and expressed his strong opinions against the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. and Canada.Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In November, Jake Paul, the YouTuber and sometime boxer, staged a live boxing match with Mike Tyson, a media spectacle that drew more than a hundred million viewers and tested Netflix’s capacity for live streaming.Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2024
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Building and launching rockets into space is a complex, unpredictable and sometime dangerous business.Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Giants aren’t expected to announce it until late Sunday or Monday.Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 8 Dec. 2024
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Explore Camila Cabello See latest videos, charts and news Camila Cabello Becomes Substitute Teacher From pop star to substitute teacher, Camila Cabello can do it all.Griselda Flores, Billboard, 7 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near once
Cite this Entry
“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/once. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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