as in milestone
a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs
a watershed moment in her life came when she inherited a reasonable sum of money and was able to start her own coffee shop
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in pivotal
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of watershed
Liz Teitz, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Apr. 2026
The administration said the ban would protect the watershed and canoe wilderness.
—Todd Richmond, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
The early 1990s were a watershed moment for female health.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Noun
The agency has been working since 2018 with Texas Parks and Wildlife to remove invasive plants — Arundo donax, also called giant cane or giant reed, and elephant ears — from the watershed, but has seen an increase in those species since the flood.
—Liz Teitz, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Apr. 2026
The administration said the ban would protect the watershed and canoe wilderness.
—Todd Richmond, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
The boxing world, in general, is also kind of identifying this as a watershed moment, in many ways.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
The early 1990s were a watershed moment for female health.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
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Furthermore, the Chinese company behind the system has already begun moving toward commercialization, with its earlier Hanyuan-1 model reaching an important milestone in November last year after winning its first contracts from customers in both China and overseas markets.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
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For him, Gleevec's 25th anniversary is a milestone.—
Sydney Lupkin,
NPR,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
But what makes this offseason a pivotal moment for them is the additional tax rate known as the repeater tax — a more severe financial penalty based on five-year windows, incentivizing owners not to spend excessively over the salary cap for prolonged periods.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
8 May 2026
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Furthermore, Sharpe spent six months learning how to tinkle the ivories, an impressive commitment which pays off during the pivotal piano battles and ensures a welcome absence of clumsy cutaways from fingers to face.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
At the climax of the episode, two kingfishers sported over a stream, a dazzling dogfight of orange and blue.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
-
At the climax, the music, seemingly stuck in a digital rut, comes to a halt as a static image of Charli is busted through by a bunch of young men seemingly bringing a mosh pit out into the open.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
An epochal moment arrived in 2011, in the era of the mommy blog, when the then popular website Moms Who Need Wine teamed up with the California Wine Club for a subscription program known as the Wine Mom Series.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
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Its demographics have also undergone an epochal shift.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The agreement, signed by all parties to the landmark case that is now in its sixth year, drops a requirement that the city remove 9,800 homeless encampments by next June.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
The neighborhood The Çırağan has always relied heavily on its almost unparalleled waterfront location, as well as proximity to landmarks like the Dolmabahçe Palace.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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These results were championed as the country’s official victory over the virus and a decisive win for those advocating for digital vaccination credential systems.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
After scoring a decisive goal in Buffalo’s series-clinching win against Boston in Game 6, Benson was all over the ice in the first period against Montreal.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Last year, Oasis announced that their momentous 2025 comeback would be documented in a concert film called Oasis Live ’25.—
Kiana Mickles,
Pitchfork,
8 May 2026
-
Thursday, April 30, was supposed to be a momentous day for Ben Collins and The Onion.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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