ORIGINS Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

origins

noun

plural of origin

as in sources

a point or place at which something is invented or provided the origins of human language remain a matter of considerable debate

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in roots

the source from which something grows or develops the origin of the tradition of giving presents at Christmastime

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in lineages

the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended they could trace their origins back 15 generations

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 origins For anyone who spends a lot of time online, the series’s AI origins are hard to miss. — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026 This team considered the origins of this star using a model of the Milky Way that has been rapidly enriched with elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, which astronomers call metals, via the death of the first generation of stars. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The film traces the fabric’s origins in Wakayama, Japan where Loopwheeler’s century-old factory transforms raw yarn into fleece by hand. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026 The ChatGPT maker said its models helped investigators understand the device, trace its origins and identify an employee suspected of planting it several days earlier. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026 The mystique is gone In 2010, making a movie about Facebook’s origins was truly bold. — Andrew McGowan, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 Dating Derinkuyu precisely is difficult; claims of Hittite or Phrygian origins (dating roughly to the 8th to 7th centuries BCE or earlier) are common but unproven. — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026 By then, the meme had already become a viral format, and users cared little about its AI origins. — Angela Yang, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026 Its origins lie in the real persecution of Urbain Grandier, a priest in 17th-century France accused of bewitching a convent of nuns. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for origins

Noun

But Netanyahu’s government wanted the existing framework kept intact, according to multiple sources who spoke to TIME, including an Israeli official and an international diplomat.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
Russia's Ryazan oil refinery has suspended operations at a primary crude distillation unit after a drone attack in the region on Thursday, two industry sources told Reuters.

— Arathy Somasekhar Reuters, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of sources

Noun

Some ancestral lineages diverged roughly 21,000 years ago, according to the review.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
While some of these families traced their lineages back to the colonial aristocrats of Mexico or New England, the Mesmers, like Griffith, were recent European immigrants, having come to the United States from Alsace, France.

— Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of lineages

Noun

The books below will satisfy your bog witch cravings, while also reminding you of the real-world importance of bogs as bulwarks against climate change, cradles of biodiversity, and keepers of ancestral memory.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Soft, dynamic cushioning cradles your feet with every step while providing maximum support, providing transition assistance between launch and landing.

— Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of cradles

Noun

Nubar is a Kurdish word symbolizing a fresh start and new beginnings, just like Mustafa's.

— Charlie De Mar, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
One man who always has a lot to say is Josh Pate, the college football commentator who started from humble beginnings and is now one of the foremost voices in the sport.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of beginnings

Noun

But Shanes questioned whether grouping Jews under a single ethnic category would produce sufficiently specific data for those purposes, or instead obscure differences among Jewish populations with distinct ancestries.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026
This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestries

Noun

Sometimes, though, these genealogies of behavior can seem beside the point, serving only to dull one’s analysis of the situation.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
The scientists’ method reconstructs genealogies, or maps showing where different pieces of DNA came from and how they were passed down, revealing branches of our evolutionary past.

— Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of genealogies

Browse Nearby Words

originators

origins

orison

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Origins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/origins. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of origins

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes