Library / English Dictionary

BECOME

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: became   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Enter or assume a certain state or condition

Example:

Get going!

Synonyms:

become; get; go

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "become" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "become"):

sober; sober up (become sober after excessive alcohol consumption)

sober; sober up (become more realistic)

work (arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion)

take effect (go into effect or become effective or operative)

run (change from one state to another)

take (be seized or affected in a specified way)

break (come into being)

settle (become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s Adjective
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

John will become angry

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come into existence

Example:

What becomes has duration

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "become"):

make (be or be capable of being changed or made into)

arise; bob up; come up (originate or come into being)

arise; develop; grow; originate; rise; spring up; uprise (come into existence; take on form or shape)

form; spring; take form; take shape (develop into a distinctive entity)

root (come into existence, originate)

come; occur (come to one's mind; suggest itself)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Undergo a change or development

Example:

He turned traitor

Synonyms:

become; turn

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "become" is one way to...):

metamorphose; transform; transmute (change in outward structure or looks)

Verb group:

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

turn (cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "become"):

boil down; come down; reduce (be the essential element)

choke; suffocate (become stultified, suppressed, or stifled)

nucleate (form into a nucleus)

add up; amount; come (develop into)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Enhance the appearance of

Example:

This behavior doesn't suit you!

Synonyms:

become; suit

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "become" is one way to...):

beautify; embellish; fancify; prettify (make more beautiful)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Credits

 Context examples: 

If it grows large enough, it can press against the brain, becoming life-threatening.

(Acoustic Neuroma, NIH: National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders)

A. calcoaceticus is thought to be a commensal organism of the skin and throat but may become pathogenic in patients with underlying conditions, usually causing respiratory infection.

(Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder of the skin in which oil glands and hair glands become inflamed.

(Acne, NCI Dictionary)

He broke out in a merry whistle, which quickly became lugubrious and ceased.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The gums can start to pull away from the teeth, creating open pockets that then become infected.

(New Link Found between Alzheimer's & Gum Disease Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Without social transmission taking place in predator species such as great tits, it becomes extremely difficult for conspicuously coloured prey to outlast and outcompete alternative prey, even if they are distasteful or toxic.

(Birds learn from each other’s ‘disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours, University of Cambridge)

Even after I became suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind old clergyman.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley's attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Essentially the cells become confused and begin pushing out essential inner components rather than waste, leading to a loss of function and ultimately their death.

(New Mechanisms Found of Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Disorders, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The images indicate that the vortices probably develop deeper in Neptune's atmosphere, becoming visible only when the top of the storm reaches higher altitudes.

(Hubble Reveals Dynamic Atmospheres of Uranus, Neptune, NASA)