happened

VERB

come to pass; occur

Synonyms

STRONGEST

appear arise arrive crop up develop fall go on hit materialize meet pass result take effect take place transpire

STRONG

befall betide bump chance down ensue eventuate follow issue light proceed recur shake smoke spring stumble supervene

WEAK

be found become a fact become known become of come about come after come into being come into existence come off luck present itself stumble upon turn out turn up what goes

Antonyms

STRONGEST

cease disappear fail halt lose stop

STRONG

precede

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.

See Examples For:

happened

Scientists do know that the transition from single-celled life to multicellular organisms happened more than once in different parts of the world.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

When you start googling about the emoluments clause, the first thing that keeps coming up is “What ever happened to the emoluments clause,” as though it was excised from the Constitution.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

"Even though what happened to me was horrendous, I feel sorry for the staff," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Jonathan can be telling you a funny story about something that happened in the 1970s, but when they call “Action,” he suddenly drops himself into the place of a man who’s slowly losing his mind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

She said none of these changes happened until the exact time of day she was born.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold