as in to create
to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind)
the ice storm caused a massive power outage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in reason
someone or something responsible for a result
the much-debated causes of the war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in movement
a series of activities undertaken to achieve a goal
joined the freedom fighters' cause as a young man
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of cause
Dan England, Outside, 5 Feb. 2026
In operation, the actuator compresses and holds the Ni-Ti tubes, causing the material to heat up.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Feb. 2026
David Remnick, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
The cause is a behavioral phenomenon known as correlation neglect, according to Wachter.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cause
Verb
But ultrarunning officials worry WADA may not be considering how point two—the ability to cause harm—applies to the unique demands of the sport.
—Dan England, Outside, 5 Feb. 2026
In operation, the actuator compresses and holds the Ni-Ti tubes, causing the material to heat up.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Feb. 2026
Noun
Donating tons of money to all these causes, and trying to just improve his image.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
The cause is a behavioral phenomenon known as correlation neglect, according to Wachter.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cause
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cause
Verb
-
Armchair analysis fills the space that is created by the absence of available facts.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Another measure, House Bill 1645, would create state versions of FEMA programs as Mississippi officials prepare for reduced federal disaster support.—
ALEX ROZIER Mississippi Today,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Gordon pointed to a January study published in the journal Science as highlighting the reason behind the decline in overdose deaths.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
My sense is that the reason for this disconnect—the loss of power that faith traditions and philosophies once had to influence progressive movements—is that so much of it is digital now.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Articles supporting the city’s democracy movement, including antigovernment protests that rocked the city in 2019, attracted many pro-democracy readers.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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And second, while owner Jeff Bezos may have protected his space company from presidential retaliation, there’s no sign the Post won any benefits from the president or his movement.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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McCarthy warned that being too quick to bring untested criminal cases against political adversaries risks damaging institutional legitimacy regardless of which party is in power.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The government brought forward major reforms and bans on assault-style weapons after the country suffered its worst-ever shooting attack in 2020, when a man impersonating a police officer killed 22 people in northern Nova Scotia.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In a new secondary analysis of the larger trial published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Patti and her colleagues asked how different social determinants of health affected outcomes after bariatric surgery compared to medical therapy for people with type 2 diabetes and obesity.—
Elizabeth Cooney,
STAT,
19 Jan. 2026
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This research suggests that social determinants of health, including financial stress and food insecurity, may belong in the same conversation.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In all, 203 of this year’s 230 Academy Award nominees gathered Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the annual nominees luncheon, a brief moment of campaign-free conviviality amid the churn of awards season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Sanders already has millions in campaign funds.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report Bot, software that analyzes home sales or other data and creates an article based on a template created by humans.—
Unitedrobotsrealestate,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Cities, counties, schools and special districts impose taxes on properties and in recent years those levies generated more than $88 billion annually, with over half going to schools.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Researchers have looked for years for smoking-gun evidence that social-media use directly causes mental-health problems in young people at scale, and have mostly turned up weak and inconsistent correlations and no way to prove long-term causation.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
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While this don't show causation by any means, the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting chronic infections play some role in neurodegenerative disease over time.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cause.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cause. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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