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Definitions

commenced

[kuh-menst] / kəˈmɛnst /
ADJECTIVE
originated
Synonyms
STRONG
begun created started
ADJECTIVE
present
Synonyms
STRONGEST
current
STRONG
begun being coeval contemporary instant modern nowadays prompt started today
WEAK
ad hoc already at this moment contemporaneous even now existent extant for the time being going on immediate in duration in process just now present-day topical under consideration up-to-date
Antonyms
STRONG
late old
WEAK
far former future past previous
ADJECTIVE
present-day
Synonyms
STRONGEST
contemporary modern
WEAK
ad hoc already at this moment begun being coeval contemporaneous current even now existent existing extant for the time being going on immediate in duration in process instant just now new now nowadays prompt started today topical under consideration up-to-date
Antonyms
STRONGEST
old old-fashioned
ADJECTIVE
started
Synonyms
STRONGEST
initiated
STRONG
evoked instituted
ADJECTIVE
underway
Synonyms
STRONGEST
afoot ongoing
WEAK
advancing begun in progress initiated moving started undertaken
Antonyms
WEAK
halted stopped

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By the time hostilities commenced in the Middle East it had halved, and Michael Saylor’s bitcoin vehicle suffered an even more vertiginous drop, from north of $450 last summer to a February trough of $106.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

Broadside printing of the document commenced hours after it was approved.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The four stocks joined the S&P 500 as trading commenced on Monday.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

"Members of the public pulled a 66-year-old man and 64-year-old woman from the water and commenced CPR," New South Wales Police said.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

The little boy started clucking and pecking ’round on the stage then he commenced scratching at the floor with his bare feet and you’d have swored he was digging up worms!

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis