originate
To start or come from a particular place or time.
originate in a sentence
- Did you know that noodles originate from China, where people have eaten them for thousands of years?
- Many of our favourite fairy tales originate from stories told around fires hundreds of years ago.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to originate?
- Astop
- Bend
- Cfinish
- Dbegin
Show the answer
D: begin. The other three mean the opposite of originate.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to originate?
- Aarise
- Bbegin
- Cstart
- Dend
Show the answer
D: end. The other three mean nearly the same as originate.
Words that mean something similar
begin, start, arise
Words that mean the opposite
end, finish, stop
More words about time & change
- overdue: Later than it should be.
- perish: To die, or to be destroyed or ruined.
- potential: Possible in the future, though not happening yet.
- predicament: A tricky situation that is hard to get out of.
- prevail: To win in the end or to be the strongest.
- previous: Coming before the one you are talking about.
- primitive: Very simple and from an early time, without modern comforts.
- procrastinate: To keep putting off something you should do now.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test