WATERSHED Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

watershed 1 of 2

noun

ˈwȯ-tər-ˌshed

Definition of watershed

as in milestone

a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs a watershed moment in her life came when she inherited a reasonable sum of money and was able to start her own coffee shop

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watershed

2 of 2

adjective

as in pivotal

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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 watershed

Noun

In Michigan, the only state entirely within the watershed, officials are testing 200 tributaries for microplastics. — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 In an effort to provide more public access into the watershed’s pristine forest and mountain regions, SFPUC opened the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail in 2003. — Stephanie Lam, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

Adjective

The watershed department, days after the June 27 incident, said the chemical spill at the South River facility did not cause the fish kill. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 29 July 2026 At Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi, government officials described the agreement as a watershed moment for bilateral trade. — Mayu Saini, Footwear News, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for watershed

Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed

Noun

But as this milestone and his injury last season reiterate, this is temporary and precarious.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
In addition to these milestones, this will be the ninth overall launch by the Ariane 6 program, which was developed by the European Space Agency and is now operated by Arianespace.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of milestone

Adjective

Iceland’s freezing temperatures typically last about five months of the year, but the government has chosen a balmy summer day for its pivotal national referendum.

— Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
But Bama followed with a 38-3 quarterfinal flop to Indiana, erasing any momentum and placing DeBoer squarely under the microscope entering a pivotal third season.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of pivotal

Adjective

The former touts Mohamed Salah, an epochal star with ample motivation after his fraught final campaign with Liverpool.

— Christopher Hamill, New York Times, 15 June 2026
The Cane Ridge Revival would become an epochal moment in American religious history, one of the most visible manifestations of what historians would later refer to as the Second Great Awakening.

— Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026

Definition of epochal

Noun

The barn was designated a historic landmark by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commissions in 2014.

— Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026
So even as the national debt recently passed the $40 trillion landmark, there was barely a murmur coming from the party of fiscal responsibility.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of landmark

Adjective

Carney was also buoyed by Monday’s Liberal sweep of three special elections, including a decisive win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, where the Conservatives fell to third place.

— Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Carney was also buoyed by Monday's Liberal sweep of three special elections, including a decisive win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Quebec, where the Conservatives fell to third place.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of decisive

Adjective

There’s little sense of forward motion in these tracks, but even when simply drifting in place, the blend of atmosphere and physicality—sunset glow meets seismic throb—is payoff enough.

— Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it.

— Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025

Definition of payoff

Adjective

What to the other parties was merely the sale of a ship was to him a momentous event involving a radically new view of existence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Or what about storming the field, the tradition that follows a momentous win, when order dissolves and players brace themselves for a horde of fans pouring out of the stands.

— Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of momentous

Browse Nearby Words

waters down

watershed

watersheds

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“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of watershed

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

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