Begin vs. Commence — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Begin and Commence
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Compare with Definitions
Begin
Perform or undergo the first part of (an action or activity)
It was beginning to snow
She began by rewriting the syllabus
Peter had just begun a life sentence for murder
Commence
Begin
A public inquiry is due to commence on the 16th
His design team commenced work
Begin
Not have any chance or likelihood of doing a specified thing
I can't begin to tell you how much I hate that commercial
Commence
To begin; start.
Begin
To perform or undergo the first part of an action; start
I began to email you but got interrupted. The rain began around noon.
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Commence
To enter upon or have a beginning; start.
Begin
To come into being
When life began.
Commence
(intransitive) To begin, start.
Begin
To do or accomplish something in the least degree. Used in the negative with an infinitive
Those measures do not even begin to address the problem.
Commence
(transitive) To begin to be, or to act as.
Begin
To say as the first in a series of remarks
"I didn't like the movie," he began.
Commence
To take a degree at a university.
Begin
To have as a first element or part
The play begins with a monologue.
Commence
To have a beginning or origin; to originate; to start; to begin.
Here the anthem doth commence.
His heaven commences ere the world be past.
Begin
To have as the lowest price in a range
Those shirts begin at $20.
Commence
To begin to be, or to act as.
We commence judges ourselves.
Begin
To have as a first position, stage, or job
The restaurant began as a ice-cream parlor. The principal began as a math teacher.
Commence
To take a degree at a university.
I question whether the formality of commencing was used in that age.
Begin
To take the first step in doing; start
Began work.
Commence
To enter upon; to begin; to perform the first act of.
Many a wooer doth commence his suit.
Begin
To cause to come into being; originate
An invention that began a new era.
Commence
Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action;
We began working at dawn
Who will start?
Get working as soon as the sun rises!
The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia
He began early in the day
Let's get down to work now
Begin
To come first in (a series, for instance)
The numeral 1 begins the sequence.
Commence
Set in motion, cause to start;
The U.S. started a war in the Middle East
The Iraqis began hostilities
Begin a new chapter in your life
Begin
(ambitransitive) To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
I began playing the piano at the age of five.
Now that everyone is here, we should begin the presentation.
Commence
Get off the ground;
Who started this company?
We embarked on an exciting enterprise
I start my day with a good breakfast
We began the new semester
The afternoon session begins at 4 PM
The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack
Begin
(intransitive) To be in the first stage of some situation
The program begins at 9 o'clock on the dot.
I rushed to get to class on time, but the lesson had already begun.
Begin
(intransitive) To come into existence.
Begin
(nonstandard) Beginning; start.
Begin
To have or commence an independent or first existence; to take rise; to commence.
Vast chain of being! which from God began.
Begin
To do the first act or the first part of an action; to enter upon or commence something new, as a new form or state of being, or course of action; to take the first step; to start.
When I begin, I will also make an end.
Begin
To enter on; to commence.
Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the song.
Begin
To trace or lay the foundation of; to make or place a beginning of.
The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures, which leads us to the knowledge of God.
Begin
Beginning.
Begin
Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
Begin
Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action;
We began working at dawn
Who will start?
Get working as soon as the sun rises!
The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia
He began early in the day
Let's get down to work now
Begin
Have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense;
The DMZ begins right over the hill
The second movement begins after the Allegro
Prices for these homes start at $250,000
Begin
Set in motion, cause to start;
The U.S. started a war in the Middle East
The Iraqis began hostilities
Begin a new chapter in your life
Begin
Begin to speak or say;
Now listen, friends,
Begin
Be the first item or point, constitute the beginning or start, come first in a series;
The number 'one' begins the sequence
A terrible murder begins the novel
The convocation ceremoney officially begins the semester
Begin
Have a beginning, of a temporal event;
WWII began in 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland
The company's Asia tour begins next month
Begin
Have a beginning characterized in some specified way;
The novel begins with a murder
My property begins with the three maple trees
Her day begins with a work-out
The semester begins with a convocation ceremony
Begin
Begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object;
Begin a cigar
She started the soup while it was still hot
We started physics in 10th grade
Begin
Achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative;
This economic measure doesn't even begin to deal with the problem of inflation
You cannot even begin to understand the problem we had to deal with during the war
Begin
Begin to speak, understand, read, and write a language;
She began Russian at an early age
We started French in fourth grade
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