1
as in to down
to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall
a champion boxer who was shockingly felled in the first round
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to mow
to bring down by cutting
the settlers began the daunting task of felling the mighty trees that blanketed the island
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to kill
to deprive of life
the quest for a cure for malaria, the disease that felled so many during the digging of the Panama Canal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
planning for the distribution of resources in case of some fell event
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in savage
violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition
a once-mighty nation conquered by a fell and barbarous enemy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fell
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Briefly Captain Jared Spurgeon returned to practice after being felled this week by an illness.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 21 Feb. 2025
Eswar Prasad, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2025
Raised beds and planter boxes solve a lot of common gardening problems in one fell swoop.
—Architectural Digest, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fell
Verb
More news: Oldest Manager in MLB Bans Players From Using Cell Phones
Starting catcher Tyler Stephenson was recently felled by an oblique strain that will sideline him for weeks, if not months, into the regular season.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Briefly Captain Jared Spurgeon returned to practice after being felled this week by an illness.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
In one fell swoop, Washington has severely restricted international commerce.
—Eswar Prasad, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2025
Raised beds and planter boxes solve a lot of common gardening problems in one fell swoop.
—Architectural Digest, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell
Verb
-
British retail giant Marks & Spencer has been hit by a cyberattack that's downed its online payments for five days, with a ransomware group known as Scattered Spider reportedly linked to the hack.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
-
But as the damage fades and the years march on, toppled trees and downed branches create gaps in the canopy that let light penetrate to the forest floor.—
Marina Wang,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
For the Stroitel players, this meant fulfilling their normal duties of mowing and marking the pitch ahead of that semi-final.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
-
For lawn care, start with just mowing before adding edging and landscaping.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
As The Free Radical noted this week, at least 100 trans people were murdered across Brazil in 2023; another 65 were killed between January and September 2024, according to the international nonprofit Transgender Europe.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them.,
30 Apr. 2025
-
Gangs in Haiti killed at least 5,600 people last year, according to a new United Nations report.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The serial killer sat on death row for 14 years before execution by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at age 52.—
Andrew Nodell,
People.com,
9 May 2025
-
South Carolina allows condemned inmates to choose whether to die by lethal injection, electric chair or firing squad.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
-
As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
Verb
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After these findings were reported, menopausal hormone therapy prescriptions dropped sharply in the U.S. and worldwide.—
Jean Wactawski-Wende,
The Conversation,
2 May 2025
-
Individual contracts can be selected prior to dropping into a match, and are the game’s primary form of long-term progression, allowing for permanent upgrades that make each run a little more meaningful.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
2 May 2025
Verb
-
To allow these courts to be destroyed to make pickleball courts is just wrong.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
3 May 2025
-
Black residents had already been moving away because of gentrification before the fires and saw their homes severely damaged or destroyed at higher rates than other groups during the blaze.—
Andrew Khouri,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2025
Adjective
-
Treatment and prognosis Glioblastoma is among the deadliest cancers, with patients living for an average of just over a year after diagnosis.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
3 May 2025
-
Hurricanes Beryl and Milton were also deadly, each killing more than 40 people in the United States.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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