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
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of was
There was a spirit of abundance and joy, too; that can’t be remiss.
—
Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
While there was a spin-off OVA in the late ‘80s, which Izubuchi designed the mecha for, there were also two Aura Phantasm artbooks released by B-Club around the same time.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
When Cochrane died in 1913, at 74, from complications following a stroke, there was a growing commercial market for dishwashers in the United States.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
My mom came from bad financial circumstances and you get used to (the money) and there was a stature to it.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
There was Bader’s spectacular catch toward the end of the game.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
But with an encouraging slate of opponents upcoming, there’s more hope for this Cowboys team to make a push for the playoffs today than there was yesterday.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
In a new study, women with Alzheimer’s had lower levels of omega-3s, and there was no difference in men.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
While there was a spin-off OVA in the late ‘80s, which Izubuchi designed the mecha for, there were also two Aura Phantasm artbooks released by B-Club around the same time.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
When Cochrane died in 1913, at 74, from complications following a stroke, there was a growing commercial market for dishwashers in the United States.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
My mom came from bad financial circumstances and you get used to (the money) and there was a stature to it.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
There was Bader’s spectacular catch toward the end of the game.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
But with an encouraging slate of opponents upcoming, there’s more hope for this Cowboys team to make a push for the playoffs today than there was yesterday.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
In a new study, women with Alzheimer’s had lower levels of omega-3s, and there was no difference in men.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
South Florida has lived these lousy afternoons all week — and Friday’s forecast calls for more of the same.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Steve has more than 40 years of food industry experience in his native Hong Kong and in the Bay Area, where the couple lived and owned various eateries for two decades.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After the plane touched down, a motorcade stood ready to escort Kirk's casket to Hansen Mortuary Chapel near Seventh Street and Northern Avenue.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Witherspoon stood on a trail next to a bike, wearing a pair of army green hiking pants without a wrinkle in sight.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In 2007, Kansas was picked to play in the Orange Bowl over Mizzou, even though the Tigers were ranked higher and had won the head-to-head matchup in the final week of the regular season.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
-
His 151 carries ranked sixth, while his 631 rushing yards ranked seventh.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Out of 34 matchups between FBS teams that have been played at least 110 times, Mizzou-Kansas is one of two that hasn’t happened the past two seasons.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Eight of the top ten drawings happened this decade.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In other words, nearly 2 million jobs that were ostensibly created under the second half of Biden’s presidency never actually existed.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Selling gold seemed like a straightforward experience; after all, it's existed for quite literally thousands of years.—
Brandon Aversano,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.—
Amanda Rosa,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
-
The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Because of that, great stock is placed on the pictures and videos that are taken with a smartphone.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The board placed the task of arts grants distribution into the hands of the Parks and Culture Committee and decided to transition its distribution formula to one that divided the total pot of arts funding allocated in the county budget equally among all qualified groups, Tarantino said.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
7 Aug. 2025
-
All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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