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onset

noun
 
 
/ˈɒn.set/ US  /ˈɑːn-/

Definition

the onset of sth the moment at which something unpleasant begins: the onset of winter The new treatment can delay the onset of the disease by several years.Beginnings and starts phonetics the first part of a syllable → Compare coda
(Definition of onset noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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