begun

verb

past participle of begin
1
as in commenced
to take the first step in (a process or course of action) she began walking to work for exercise

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in started
to come into existence the storm began late in the day and lasted all night

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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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 begun Beginning in 2012, Netanyahu’s government helped to facilitate Qatari payments to Gaza that had begun after Hamas seized control in 2007. — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026 As financial markets have become more accessible, consumers have begun trading sophisticated financial instruments, purchasing fractional shares and gaining exposure to alternative assets in minutes. — Aneri Jambusaria, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026 For years, the show's staff has begun each morning with a long meeting about the day's news, and what should and should not be included in the two-hour broadcast. — Scott Detrow, NPR, 18 Oct. 2026 The movie starts with Farrier reporting on Bashford Antiques, a shop in Ponsonby that has begun aggressively clamping cars in its lot and demanding exorbitant fees to release them — up to $760. — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026 Construction also has already begun on a second pad, LC-36B, for an even larger version of New Glenn, and with it a new vertical integration facility that can handle the new rockets’ heights. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026 Their teammate had begun the season competing in boys’ races before switching to girls’ competition. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 Demonstrations over corruption and a lack ​of jobs have begun spreading throughout Albania. — Reuters, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026 Still, Ukrainian drone makers have begun to wean themselves off of China. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for begun
  1. commenced
  2. started
  3. founded
  4. originated
  5. initiated
  6. arisen
  7. constituted
  8. been
Verb
  • The evening commenced with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as literary and fashion insiders arrived at the private members club.
    — Brianna J. Heath, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Zedwell responded by asking to include a redevelopment break clause in the new lease that would entitle them to terminate the lease at 6 months’ notice at any time once the new lease has commenced.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of commenced
Verb
  • Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Once the animals had learned to associate each of the six scents with a particular reward location, researchers started swapping the scent-location pairs.
    — Sean Mccabe, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of started
Verb
  • The sisters also founded fashion accessories label Dannijo in 2008, expanding into sports with DannijoPro.
    — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Trump posted a video Thursday night that directly called El-Sayed a member of the group, which was founded in Egypt; his administration has designated chapters as terrorist organizations.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of founded
Verb
  • For example, seven-year ARMs that originated in 2019 and face their first reset this year from August through December have a median initial rate of 3% and a median unpaid balance of $548,000, ICE data shows.
    — Sarah Agostino, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Wimmer says Schlingheider has evaded his questions about where the image originated.
    — Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of originated
Verb
  • The previous year, the agency initiated 541 chases, according to department data.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Netflix has initiated a major round of layoffs Wednesday, eliminating about 6% of its global staff or some 1,000 jobs for its biggest round of job cuts in four years.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of initiated
Verb
  • This All Come Back Now Perhaps my longest standing correspondence that has arisen from the podcast is with the Koori/Goori and Lebanese writer Mykaela Saunders.
    — Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • After the Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools’ bankruptcy filing, questions have arisen about the school’s use of its remaining public funds.
    — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of arisen
Verb
  • The words cut sharply into the jumble of to-do lists, fantasies, snippets of possible writing, worry, and leftover traces of postpartum depression that constituted my mind in the early months of 1993.
    — Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026
  • America was cultural dynamism that constituted soft power, from Hollywood and hip-hop to the once finest university system in the world.
    — Anna Kornbluh, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of constituted
Verb
  • Naperville residents who’ve been unable to use Book Road for most of the year will see a little relief once the stretch between 75th and 83rd streets reopens by month’s end.
    — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the greatest shows on Earth these days are coming from the road warriors who’ve been out there the longest.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of been

Browse Nearby Words

beguiling
begun
behave
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Cite this Entry

“Begun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/begun. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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