was

verb

Definition of wasnext
past tense of be
1
as in lived
to have life stories that begin with the familiar line "once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stood
to occupy a place or location we'll be there waiting for you

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in ranked
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
4
as in happened
to take place the party is next Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
  1. happened
  2. existed
  3. sat
  4. placed
  5. came
  6. ruled
  7. occurred
Verb
  • Sarah can tell us what happened next.
    Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Jones has since acknowledged that the Connecticut school shooting happened.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of happened
Verb
  • These apex predators have existed on Earth for over 400 million years, predating the emergence of trees by at least 50 million years.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
  • Notably, this was in an era before cell phones and social media existed, so Harley's isolation felt complete.
    Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 8 Dec. 2024
Definition of existed
Verb
  • Cold temperatures did not stop two dogs in Colorado from fetching two tennis balls that sat perfectly on top of a lake.
    Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
  • In the 2023 World Baseball Classic, his fastball sat 100 mph.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of sat
Verb
  • In Spain, Banderas was one of a number placed in the spotlight.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024
  • The songwriter placed himself in the situation of waiting for his dad to come home at Christmas — in vain.
    Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of placed
Verb
  • The idea to host a triple whammy of a book signing fete came while the pals were holidaying in Sicily this summer.
    Freya Drohan, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2024
  • So what happened to the gap in pay after these changes came into effect?
    Peter Ubel, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of came
Verb
  • While a Pennsylvania court ruled against him due to his age at the time, Satterthwaite alleges Carter’s team abused legal technicalities to avoid the test.
    Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 11 Dec. 2024
  • The state judge ruled the merger violated state consumer protection law and the federal case blocked the merger nationwide.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of ruled
Verb
  • This change in Level 4 and 5 visits likely occurred because there is no universally objective way to determine when a patient’s appointment is high versus medium intensity.
    Peter Ubel, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Monumental change the occurred back in February, when longtime RADA president Kenneth Branagh was succeeded by David Harewood as president and Erivo took on the role of vice president.
    Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of occurred
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near was

wary

was

was friends with

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on was

Nglish: Translation of was for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of was for Arabic Speakers

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