Thesaurus results for BIRTH PANG

birth pang

noun

Definition of birth pang

as in contraction

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of birth pang Because the ending of what feels like the end of the world is actually just the birth pangs of a new creation. — Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025 Such monstrosities, we were told, were merely the birth pangs of a new and mostly peaceful nation. — Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024 The new Germany couldn’t tell its birth pangs from its death rattles. — Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Sep. 2024 And the Affordable Care Act, for all of its birth pangs and flaws and the Republican efforts to repeal it, remains the law of the land. — Peter Baker, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 His knack for conveying compositional struggle ingeniously reflects his theme — a nation’s birth pangs. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2020

Recent Examples of Synonyms for birth pang

Noun

The dip over the past few years was driven primarily by a major contraction of the offshore wind industry.

— Eugenia Perozo, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026
With basic cable on the decline and HBO Max pulling away from kids and family original programming, Register’s domain has undergone contraction since Warner Bros Animation’s heyday.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of contraction

Noun

In cases that are considered to be too severe — such as when a pregnant woman at the center began experiencing labor pains — those individuals are airlifted to a nearby hospital.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
California has taken pains to eliminate coal as a source of electricity, and this would be the first coal export terminal in California — or anywhere on the West Coast.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of pains

Noun

Babar looked to pull Archer but, too late, tried to fend off a 91 mph (147 kph) delivery that ricocheted off his glove and helmet and ballooned to Jordan Cox at third slip.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
How can patients and communities have a say in the future of healthcare delivery?

— Lisa Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of delivery

Noun

Antosh recommends checking with a doctor before using a high-pressure bidet right after childbirth or with genital ulcers, since powerful streams can irritate healing tissue.

— Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Children were taken by tricking mothers, who were told their baby had died during childbirth.

— Ashoka, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of childbirth

Noun

They’re born before antibodies – protective proteins that recognize incoming germs – can be transferred from mother to baby during the later stages of pregnancy.

— Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, there’s a little more nuance.

— Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of pregnancy

Noun

Not least because the hips—or rather, a wide pelvis—are considered a symbol of femininity, fertility, and childbearing capacity, both from a cultural-historical and an evolutionary-biology perspective.

— Kelly Niesen, Glamour, 24 July 2026
In fact, for millennia the role of mothers has included not only childbearing and education but also protection over the community as a whole, especially through advocacy for peace.

— Marie-Claire Beaulieu, The Conversation, 5 May 2026

Definition of childbearing

Noun

This pattern spans over a decade, indicating a remarkable fidelity to the Ashburton River and its surrounding creeks as critical parturition sites.

— Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
His mother paced the spacious birthing stall, working off the pains of parturition, with half the placenta, neatly tied up by an attending stable hand, still hanging out of her.

— William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 15 May 2021

Definition of parturition

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birthmarks

birth pang

birth pangs

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“Birth pang.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birth%20pang. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of birth pang

noun

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