com ‧ mence ‧ ment AC /kəˈmensmənt/ BrE AmE noun formal
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ commence ; noun : ↑ commencement ]
1 . [uncountable] the beginning of something
commencement of
the commencement of building work
2 . [uncountable and countable] American English a ceremony at which university, college, or high school students receive their ↑ diploma s SYN graduation
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THESAURUS
▪ beginning the first part of something such as a story, event, or period of time:
The beginning of the movie is very violent.
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Let’s go back to the beginning.
▪ start the beginning of something, or the way something begins:
Tomorrow marks the start of the presidential election campaign.
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It was not a good start to the day.
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The runners lined up for the start of the race.
▪ commencement formal the beginning of something – used especially in official contexts:
the commencement of the academic year
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the commencement of the contract
▪ origin the point from which something starts to exist:
He wrote a book about the origins of the universe.
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The tradition has its origins in medieval times.
▪ the onset of something the time when something bad begins, such as illness, old age, or cold weather:
the onset of winter
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An active lifestyle can delay the onset of many diseases common to aging.
▪ dawn literary the beginning of an important period of time in history:
People have worshipped gods since the dawn of civilization.
▪ birth the beginning of something important that will change many people’s lives:
the birth of democracy in South Africa
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the birth of the environmental movement