Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His thinking begins instead with three separate givens: God, world, human being.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

They call each other wives, because in 2025 same-sex marriage and parenting are givens, not distant fantasies.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2025

But coach Bev Priestman suggested that growing parity means there are no givens.

From Washington Times • Jul. 17, 2023

My criticism is not that these characterizations don’t ring true to me, but that they are givens enacted with such fidelity that they render the world static.

From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2022

He knows no more than they do about total reality—less, if anything: works with the same old clutter of atoms, the givens of his time and place and tongue.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner