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
The ruling did not address whether there was enough cause to remove Cook, based on the fraud allegations brought forth by the administration.
—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
Police said, according to WBNS, that there was a history of domestic violence in the relationship, and it is believed to be the cause of Creech's death.
—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
There was an active arrest warrant for the man for fleeing and eluding, Tony said, and DNA samples had tied him to multiple other crimes.
—
Angie Dimichele,
Sun Sentinel,
30 June 2026
New Jersey seemed to have forgot, because there was no reaction to this line.
—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
But after the 2020 election, CISA, which is a nonpartisan agency, came out and said there was no interference in the 2020 election.
—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
29 June 2026
After the verdict, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement that her office decided to charge Pino with a felony after determining that there was sufficient evidence that Pino’s actions were reckless, although the jury ultimately disagreed.
—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
Insiders say if the studio didn’t have a film close to pre-production in the next six months, there was a strong chance the Lego rights could lapse and head back to market.
—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
There was enough notice for other cast members to swing by and pay their respects, too.
—
Josh Wigler,
HollywoodReporter,
22 June 2026
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
Police said, according to WBNS, that there was a history of domestic violence in the relationship, and it is believed to be the cause of Creech's death.
—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
There was an active arrest warrant for the man for fleeing and eluding, Tony said, and DNA samples had tied him to multiple other crimes.
—
Angie Dimichele,
Sun Sentinel,
30 June 2026
New Jersey seemed to have forgot, because there was no reaction to this line.
—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
But after the 2020 election, CISA, which is a nonpartisan agency, came out and said there was no interference in the 2020 election.
—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
29 June 2026
After the verdict, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement that her office decided to charge Pino with a felony after determining that there was sufficient evidence that Pino’s actions were reckless, although the jury ultimately disagreed.
—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
Insiders say if the studio didn’t have a film close to pre-production in the next six months, there was a strong chance the Lego rights could lapse and head back to market.
—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
There was enough notice for other cast members to swing by and pay their respects, too.
—
Josh Wigler,
HollywoodReporter,
22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for was
Verb
-
That obviously had a lot of consequences for the Native Americans who lived there.
-
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee has lived at the home for more than four decades, according to the listing held by Keller Williams Everett's Jeannette Harpole.
Verb
-
On a recent afternoon outside the temple in central Kerala, Raman stood motionless as two children played, giggling and hugging its trunk.
-
By the start of the new millennium, with China only beginning its rise, there stood just a single superpower in the world.
Verb
-
MoneyLion ranked the nation's 50 most affluent suburbs by household income, as measured in the 2024 American Community Survey.
-
Sherman’s March, which won the Grand Jury prize at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival, was ranked as one of the highest-grossing documentary films of all time until the mid-1990s.
Verb
-
When that happened, on July 4, 1778, locals rang the old bell, which had been delivered up the Mississippi from New Orleans, and for a long time locals stored the bell inside the church.
-
The incident seemed to spark a bit of life into Morocco as its best passages of play happened afterwards, with Canada seeming to lose a step after starting so well.
Verb
-
His Commentaries became foundational reading for nineteenth-century lawyers, emphasizing that law existed to preserve constitutional government, private rights, and public confidence in legal institutions.
-
Instead, colonial watchmaking existed largely as finishing and assembly rather than complete manufacture.
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.
-
The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.
Verb
-
Crews have been seen unloading equipment from trucks this week — much of it covered or obscured — and barricades have been placed near the perimeter of the arena.
-
An employee with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, has been placed under administrative leave after being arrested for allegedly driving under the influence.
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.
-
All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.
Cite this Entry
“Was.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/was. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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