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
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show current usage.
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Recent Examples of was
There was an active shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
—
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 19 May 2026
In our family, my father was usually the one driving, but there was never any doubt who was really setting our direction.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
That foundation meant that when the mainstream moment arrived, there was already a real community ready to activate and amplify it.
—Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
There was no mention of the letter at Monday’s premiere which was attended by Jérôme Seydoux, the formidable head of French mini-major Pathé who is also Seydoux’s grandfather, and Ardavan Safaee, president of Pathé Films, which is a producer on the film.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 18 May 2026
Alongside the increases in prices over the past several months, there was a significant shift in speculator positions.
—Sj Guest Editorial, Footwear News, 18 May 2026
There was no time to wait for a veterinarian, police told MDR, as the area was busy with people.
—Frank Andrews, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Surely there was a time earlier in your life when your financial picture wasn’t so stable.
—R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2026
There was another problem, too.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 19 May 2026
In our family, my father was usually the one driving, but there was never any doubt who was really setting our direction.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
That foundation meant that when the mainstream moment arrived, there was already a real community ready to activate and amplify it.
—Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
There was no mention of the letter at Monday’s premiere which was attended by Jérôme Seydoux, the formidable head of French mini-major Pathé who is also Seydoux’s grandfather, and Ardavan Safaee, president of Pathé Films, which is a producer on the film.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 18 May 2026
Alongside the increases in prices over the past several months, there was a significant shift in speculator positions.
—Sj Guest Editorial, Footwear News, 18 May 2026
There was no time to wait for a veterinarian, police told MDR, as the area was busy with people.
—Frank Andrews, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Surely there was a time earlier in your life when your financial picture wasn’t so stable.
—R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2026
There was another problem, too.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
Most of the residents of the Hamad Building had lived there for decades.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
-
Over hundreds of years, at least 50 Indian tribes lived full-time or have connections to what is now the state of Colorado.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Journalists stood three deep in the aisles for the secretary of state.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
19 May 2026
-
Two inmates punched and kicked the victim for about 30 seconds in his cell, while a third inmate stood guard.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Multiple studies in 2024–26 have ranked San Jose as the least affordable housing market in the United States, based on comparisons of home prices to local incomes.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Seahawks, Week 7 Based on the all-encompassing DVOA metrics, Seattle finished last season ranked first in overall, pass and run defense.—
Jesse Newell,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Except that is not what happened.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Police said the fatal confrontation happened next to a weed truck parked across from a gas station.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The field had only formally existed for something like twenty years.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
The question of whether these venatrices, or female beast hunters, truly existed had long been a mystery.—
Taylor Mitchell Brown,
Scientific American,
19 May 2026
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
-
Additional images showed an unknown number of snakes curled on top of one another inside a large crate that was placed in the back of an officer’s vehicle.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
-
However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
15 May 2026
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 22 May. 2026.
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