opened

past tense of open
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as in expanded
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area when we got too close, the cardinal opened its wings and flew to a higher branch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of opened The Golden Bears opened the 2024 season by beating UC Davis 31-13, Auburn 21-14 and SDSU 31-10. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025 The Times Square location, on the northeast corner of 7th Avenue and 47th Street, marks the second permanent outpost for Central Perk, which opened in Boston in 2023. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 16 Sep. 2025 Kilaru highlighted how there have been dozens of similar cases filed since Pavia won an injunction—meaning, Kilaru put it, Pandora’s Box opened. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Hourglass also opened a global flagship store in SoHo in March. Emma Sandler, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Then there was the time Gibson opened the Prince’s Trust Concert in London. Leena Tailor, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025 The Central Perk Coffeehouse from Friends will be arriving in Times Square later this fall, two years after an inaugural location opened in Boston. Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025 That’s how the analysts opened their comments and questions during Oracle’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, as the company’s stock price was in the midst of a 28% after-hours rally. Ari Levy, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2025 The enrollment slide at the three schools and others in the area was partly the result of decisions by previous mayors and public school administrations who labeled North Lawndale’s schools as failing and opened new ones — many run by private entities — that drew families away. Mila Koumpilova, ProPublica, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opened
Verb
  • Korean researchers have unlocked a new way to bank clean energy and turn it back into power on demand.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Gravitational wave detection has unlocked the universe’s dark side, giving scientists access to phenomena never observed before.
    Chad Hanna, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Agents detained two suspects – including one at the scene of the crime – but later released them and cleared them of any involvement.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The jury cleared Read of killing O’Keefe, charging her with just drunken driving.
    Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • By 2019, Kirk expanded into electoral politics with Turning Point Action, a 501(c)(4) that allowed his network to directly campaign for Republicans.
    Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Cadence has expanded this technology beyond chip design towards creating digital twins of data centers including all the functional components.
    Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Kirk began taking questions, first one about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah’s dominant religion, then another by a liberal TikTok user having to do with transgender people and gun violence.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The drive began well with a 35-yard pass from Taylen Green to Jaden Platt, but stalled quickly.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Kraft had an 8-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter that extended Green Bay’s lead to 24-10.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The 9-inch monochrome CRT was retained, but the floppy drive no longer had a door, and the keyboard was extended with several special keys.
    Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • By the time the impeachment trial commenced, the top-down pressure from prominent, national Republicans could be seen and felt.
    Kimberly Ross, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Littell would finish six innings before the battle of the bullpens commenced.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The news unfolded quickly and spread within moments on social media.
    David Oliver, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Because the seller is the estate, the process likely unfolded differently than the more common private sale of a sports team from one person to another.
    Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • When Zuckerberg started talking, Boz's glasses began displaying subtitles.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2025
  • While the Valkyries started the game well, holding a 28-21 lead after the first quarter, the offense fell apart the rest of the way.
    Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Opened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opened. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.

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