1
as in to end
to bring (an event) to a natural or appropriate stopping point
we need to terminate the discussion for this evening, but we'll resume tomorrow morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
to come to an end
this class will terminate with the arrival of Memorial Day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to assassinate
to put to death deliberately
the operative's covert mission was to terminate the leader of the opposition
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to remove
to let go from office, service, or employment
he was terminated for constantly coming in to work late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in terminable
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of terminate
Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2021
ChristianaCare, the state’s largest health care system and largest private employer, has stated that all employees must receive the first dose of the vaccine by Sept. 21, or the health system with terminate workers who don’t unless given an exemption.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2021
Craig Rucker, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
With Musk pushed out of the administration and DOGE's influence waning, some onlookers predicted in the weeks leading up to the shutdown deadline that the White House would be less eager to terminate more jobs.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terminate
Verb
That control gave Puglisi the sole authority to set up new credit card accounts, change spending limits, manage card access and terminate accounts.
—Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2021
ChristianaCare, the state’s largest health care system and largest private employer, has stated that all employees must receive the first dose of the vaccine by Sept. 21, or the health system with terminate workers who don’t unless given an exemption.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2021
Adjective
Funding was terminated for the Radio Island (North Carolina), Lake Erie (Michigan), Portsmouth Marine Terminal (Virginia) and Salem Wind Port (Massachusetts) projects.
—Craig Rucker, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
With Musk pushed out of the administration and DOGE's influence waning, some onlookers predicted in the weeks leading up to the shutdown deadline that the White House would be less eager to terminate more jobs.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terminate
Verb
-
The arteries end at the capillaries.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The Arkansas Educational Freedom Accounts could cost the state more than $326 million during the fiscal year that ends June 30, according to information provided by the state Department of Education.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The traffic itself generally keeps moving rather than fully stopping.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Fighting on the island had stopped, so the soldiers in the picture were not under fire, and the action of raising the flag (there is a movie of it) took all of a few seconds.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Great Recession stands as the generation’s defining economic event.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Saudis studying abroad lose the subtleties of the language and miss out on the culture, memes, and everything else that defines this generation.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Erika Kirk took the helm of her husband’s conservative political organization in the days after he was assassinated.—
Stephanie Murray,
AZCentral.com,
27 Sep. 2025
-
In the days since founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated on a college campus, Turning Point Action has channeled grief into purpose by doubling down on its voter registration mission.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Officials urge residents to take precautions like using insect repellent and removing standing water.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Yet, Barclays’ Venkateshwar expects the environment will likely get more difficult for the wireless carrier in the future, as the entire sector deals with elevated churn — the pace at which customers are added and removed.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
These transfers can be made to trusts, such as qualified terminable interest property trust which can be relatively simple and inexpensive to create and also defer estate tax on unlimited wealth.—
Martin Shenkman,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
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Another type of trust to consider in this situation would be a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust.—
Liz Weston,
oregonlive,
6 Aug. 2023
Verb
-
Not much has gone to plan for the Twins this season, but Ryan’s season — which officially concluded on Friday night — was one of the things that has.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
27 Sep. 2025
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Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory jointly designed and produced the system’s five subsystems, said calibration and early on-orbit testing concluded successfully in June.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Trouble in Mind Records, the Chicago label that specialized in punk and garage-rock for more than a decade, has ceased operations.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
26 Sep. 2025
-
All her fraudulent welfare handouts ceased in January 2025.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terminate. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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