as in rubble
the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed
a new and more splendid city was built on the ashes of the old
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ashes
Verb
-
In Death by Lightning, his performance as Charles Guiteau incinerates any attempt to categorize the presidential assassin.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025 -
No, the King of the Monsters unleashes his fiery breath on the man and incinerates him instead.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Together, that ignites quite the power struggle in this tense thriller.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The drama ignites following the sisters’ mother’s wake, with the abrupt return of their estranged father, Gustav (Skarsgård), an acclaimed but aging director.—
Robert Lang,
Deadline,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Hopper cut off a Demogorgon’s head, and Murray torches quite a few.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
12 Nov. 2025
-
Continue reading … IN OTHER NEWS SWEET REVENGE – Aaron Rodgers torches former Jets team with 4 touchdowns in Steelers debut victory.—
,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In Song of Solomon, Milkman isn’t getting anywhere until Pilate lights his path.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The brake lights ahead of you on Interstate 70 seem to stretch to the end of the horizon.—
R. Scott Rappold,
Denver Post,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
While Martin Scorsese called it one of the scariest movies of all time, The Uninvited kindles a wonderful romance between Rick and Stella.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The star of Big Little Lies confessed her new film, Caught Stealing, kindles a powerful yearning for some aspects of the era.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Your light burns so bright in all our hearts!—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Your light burns so bright in all our hearts!—
Alex Heigl,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Many of those affected believe that they were wounded by a secret weapon that fires a high-energy beam of microwaves or ultrasound.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Jan. 2026
-
At that point, the vehicle begins to move forward and a different ICE officer pulls his weapon and immediately fires at close range, then quickly jumps out of the way.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In other words, alcohol disrupts hydration, irritates the gut, inflames blood vessels, messes with sleep, and forces your liver into metabolic overdrive.—
Ciara Lucas,
SELF,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the sacs in one or both lungs, according to the Mayo Clinic.—
Rebecca Cohen,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Ashes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ashes. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
