1
as in attacks
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
the walls withstood the onset of the first battalion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in beginnings
the point at which something begins
the claim that if you take enough vitamin C at the onset of a cold, you'll often recover faster
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onsets
Noun
-
Often, one of the pair is more offensive or box-to-box in their profile, with the other being more of a traditional, defensive-minded midfielder whose strengths are to break up opposition attacks.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025 -
Scatological attacks are usually the province of outsiders trying to cut the powerful down to size.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Esther isn’t using their beginnings as a weapon, but as a lesson.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
-
During the interview, the singer discussed success and her career beginnings and shared that her dream was to become a movie director.—
Karla Rodriguez,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There’s a lot of fear in the air – fear of speaking out, fear of being swept up in ICE raids, etc.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
26 Oct. 2025
-
There have been splashy workplace raids like the ones that occurred at a Georgia Hyundai plant and a California legal marijuana farm.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Lozano has had an up-and-down season, limited to 22 starts (out of 34 MLS games) by nagging hamstring injuries, logging nine goals and 10 assists but growing visibly frustrated on the field with incessant fouling by opponents and tactical congestion.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Oct. 2025
-
In his first three postseason starts, Snell has allowed just two runs on six hits over 21 innings.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Ising’s case is among a series of incidents The Star has reported on in recent months in which fire department employees charged with serious crimes — including assaults, a felony drug case and multiple DWIs — were allowed to remain on the job, some for years.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Vril and Agartha have thrived in part because of the way the editors mix brainrot and bigotry, disguising their ideological assaults in the fried fog of GifTok rap gibberish.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There can be 30 minutes of small waves before a sneaker wave strikes.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
-
The primary causes of death and injury for these right whales are entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.—
Lex Goldstein,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Financiers organized press offensives and enlisted top reporters as allies, offering lucrative jobs or outright bribes.—
Evan Hughes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Chapter narrators alternate between a homing pigeon and a soldier whose futures intersect in the most terrible of war offensives in France.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Media from Japan, China, the US, UK and Australia, along with over 40,000 attendees, have assembled in Tokyo for a three-day celebration dubbed Fender Experience 2025, with new series launches, artist and master builder talks, guitar workshops and live shows across three venues.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Oct. 2025
-
SpaceX conducts many of its own rocket launches, most using the Falcon 9 rocket, from California and Florida.—
Eric Lagatta,
AZCentral.com,
24 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Onsets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onsets. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share