1
as in commenced
to take the first step in (a process or course of action)
she began walking to work for exercise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in started
to come into existence
the storm began late in the day and lasted all night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in founded
to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of
the religious sect was begun by a small breakaway faction
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of begun
But the financial institutions have begun to crowd out the city’s signature and historically local retail and restaurant-friendly Miracle Mile strip.
—
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
The Commission hasn't begun the process of sifting through low-earning degrees yet.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 1 Apr. 2026
The Young Lords have also begun publishing a monthly newspaper.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Marquis had recently begun using this provider's firewalls to help protect our network.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Six months later, 81 had obtained building permits and construction had begun on 30 of those.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Maureen Groppe The debate, which is scheduled for an hour but is expected to go much longer, has begun.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
The long-planned and anticipated makeover at Gampel Pavilion has begun, now that the last UConn basketball of the season has been played on campus.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
In the public sector, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has begun using these AI capabilities to automate the assembly of complex engineering and safety analysis reports.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Mar. 2026
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
The Commission hasn't begun the process of sifting through low-earning degrees yet.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 1 Apr. 2026
The Young Lords have also begun publishing a monthly newspaper.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Marquis had recently begun using this provider's firewalls to help protect our network.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Six months later, 81 had obtained building permits and construction had begun on 30 of those.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Maureen Groppe The debate, which is scheduled for an hour but is expected to go much longer, has begun.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
The long-planned and anticipated makeover at Gampel Pavilion has begun, now that the last UConn basketball of the season has been played on campus.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
In the public sector, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has begun using these AI capabilities to automate the assembly of complex engineering and safety analysis reports.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for begun
Verb
-
Trade with China commenced in 1553.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon shared the fun fact on X once the court commenced arguments Wednesday morning, but her post drew some backlash, with critics saying no such chair exists.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Carolyn Hax started her Washington Post advice column in 1997, after five years on the Style desk and none as a therapist.—
Carolyn Hax,
Washington Post,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The match started 90 minutes late due to rain over Hard Rock Stadium.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And the three who founded it in 1998 ran two unlicensed boarding schools in Missouri that have since been closed amid abuse allegations.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Keuilian, a stout, bearded fifty-one-year-old, founded Fit Body Boot Camp, a global personal-training franchise, in 2010, and now lives in Chino Hills, California.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The fourth dimension, which originated in the eighteenth century and was mathematically theorized in the nineteenth, both described diagrammable space and functioned as an expression of time.—
Katherine Rochester,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2026
-
In practice, though, the list is largely made up of people who bump into each other at the Century Association or the Center for Architecture; even firms that originated abroad, like Snøhetta (Norway) and BIG (Denmark), have essentially become local.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Avantor has initiated a search for the next CFO.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Ledet initiated wellness checks on Lofton, but he was never taken into custody or required to seek treatment until his 2025 arrest.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the past, Bravo has resumed filming when controversies including its shows have arisen, most notably with the Vanderpump Rules season 10 cheating scandal called Scandoval.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
-
However, contrary to popular belief—which may well have arisen from Germany’s desire to distance itself from its Nazi past after the Second World War—carnival ultimately helped the Nazi party transform society in its own image.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And as of yesterday, such claims constituted a winning argument against social media titans.—
Maggie Harrison Dupré,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The judge also blocked Kennedy's 13 appointees from serving on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), finding the panel unlawfully constituted.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The fans who’ve been down with me since the ’99 and 2000s, the ones who’ve been riding with me all the way to now.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Phillips told Us Weekly there’d been the possibility of getting a kidney from her brother, Aron, but doctors ultimately turned him down.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Begun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/begun. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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