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Meaning of once upon a time | Babel Free

Adverb CEFR C2
/ˈwʌns.əˈpɑn.əˈtaɪ̯m/

Definitions

  1. A long time ago; at some time in the past (a traditional beginning of children's stories, especially fairy tales).
    not-comparable
  2. Formerly.
    not-comparable

Equivalents

Examples

“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess.”
“There was once upon a time a charcoal-burner who had a son, and he was also a charcoal-burner.”
“Once upon a time, there was a Goblin Queen And she lived in a grand palace...”
“Long before popular music evolved its many genres and subgenres, the industry was driven by a simple one-size-fits-all philosophy […] Songwriters, once upon a time, wrote songs for the masses.”

CEFR level

C2
Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.

See also

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