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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in pivotal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of watershed
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Winona has a surface area of 1,240 acres and a watershed of 43 square miles.
—Arkansas Online, 4 Apr. 2026
Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 12 Mar. 2026
That made the company’s move to bring memory manufacturing back to Boise — with the 2022 announcement of a $15 billion fab — a watershed moment for Micron and the state.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Noun
Before there were dusty trails and stage coach routes and boulevards and freeways, there was the Southern California watershed — the maze of rivers, creeks and washes that sent rain water from the mountains and valleys to the ocean.
—Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Winona has a surface area of 1,240 acres and a watershed of 43 square miles.
—Arkansas Online, 4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
The early 1990s were a watershed moment for female health.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 12 Mar. 2026
That made the company’s move to bring memory manufacturing back to Boise — with the 2022 announcement of a $15 billion fab — a watershed moment for Micron and the state.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
-
This jersey is also connected to another milestone.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
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Sarah Nuwayhid in Beirut is in her first year of university, an important milestone in any young person’s life, but the war between Israel and Hezbollah upended her plans.—
Sarah Dean,
NBC news,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The guard’s late-game work on the offensive glass and defensive contributions were pivotal for Boston.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
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The April 7 announcement by Anthropic — that its new Mythos model was far more powerful and thus far more dangerous than any previous AI tool — increasingly appears to be a pivotal moment in human history.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But she was met in the airlock by Tim Robbins' Bernard in a fiery cliffhanger climax that left us all totally breathless.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2026
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The single most important thing for England’s campaign is that Kane stays fit, especially through the climax of the Champions League.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Its demographics have also undergone an epochal shift.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
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Like nuclear-fission research, machine learning was a small scientific field with epochal implications which was dominated by a cadre of eccentric geniuses.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The company — which last week unveiled a landmark car battery with a 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) range that takes just six minutes to charge — has been boosted by the conflict in the Middle East; its stock price has jumped almost 25% since late February.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
30 Apr. 2026
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An epic K-pop pilgrimage tour is the easiest way to tick off the must-see locations in one go, including landmarks like the iconic KBS broadcasting station that has played a major role in launching the careers of countless K-pop stars.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Zehavi doubted the proliferation of FPV drones would have a truly decisive impact on the war overall, comparing it to previous technological improvements Hezbollah has adopted.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Apr. 2026
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Only four have even pushed it to the decisive Game 7.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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
Adjective
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Their capability of rebooting for another momentous chapter largely hinges on this dynamic repeating itself.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2026
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Rodrigo has yet to drop tour dates behind GSIL, which will follow her momentous Guts World Tour that wrapped in August 2025 (the double LP Live at Glastonbury showcased her incredible year touring the festival circuit).—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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