blacking out

present participle of black out
1
2
as in darkening
to grow dark with the delivery of the knockout punch, the screen blacks out, and in the next scene the boxer wakes up in the hospital

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in fainting
to lose consciousness blacked out after hitting her head on the beam

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of blacking out Residents around Milwaukee may see motorcycles rolling around town, goth concerts blacking out downtown parks, parades celebrating workers and fall kickoff events preparing for sweater weather. Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2026 This curtain type is airy, casual, and gives your windows a sense of place and structure without feeling stuffy—or completely blacking out the sunshine during golden hour. Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 4 Aug. 2026 Overwhelmed fans reported blacking out at the Eras Tour, all memories of the night dumped. Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026 One surgeon takes sitting-down breaks during an operation to avoid blacking out from hunger. The Week Uk, TheWeek, 16 July 2026 But sometimes even blacking out after long night shoots? Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 4 June 2026 Some hospitalized miners recalled seeing smoke and blacking out, according to state media reports. ABC News, 23 May 2026 Gosling headlines Miller and Phil Lord’s film adaption of Andy Weir’s 2021 book of the same name, which centers on a school teacher turned astronaut tasked with stopping a mysterious entity from blacking out the sun. Zack Sharf, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026 But beyond the humanitarian costs, blacking out the entire nation would be economically catastrophic for the region and could trigger a global recession. Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blacking out
Verb
  • The quest for 500 million flies The only way the US has succeeded in eradicating screwworm is by breeding millions of flies, sterilizing them using radiation and dropping them in areas with infestations.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The brand also claims that this sweeps away plaque rather than just blasting a hole through it, more effectively eradicating the sludgy bacteria.
    Jenny Bailly, Allure, 1 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The title references Black Like Me, white journalist John Howard Griffin’s 1961 nonfiction book about darkening his skin to pass for Black in the Jim Crow South.
    Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
  • During a total eclipse, the moon completely covers the face of the sun, darkening the sky and revealing just the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona.
    Devika Rao, TheWeek, 12 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • That song’s music video is also darkly cinematic, showing Elizabeth playing with baby dolls in between sitting, bloodied, in bathtubs and on fainting couches.
    Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Nurses are fainting on the wards, children are flopping onto their desks at school.
    Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Technically, the stock has made a round trip erasing all of its 2026 gains.
    Jay Woods, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The collective term lumped these women together, robbing them of individuality, and reducing them to merely decorative fixtures of Premier-league broadcasts while erasing their individual accomplishments.
    Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Say, if Ferrari, which is closing in on another 20 years without a title, finally designs a pack-leading car and Leclerc is in the fight as much as Hamilton.
    Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Tropical Storm Edouard is closing in on the Texas-Louisiana border, forecast to possibly reach hurricane strength at landfall Tuesday with dangerous storm surge and flooding rain.
    Jamie Stengle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Stephen Zangrillo may be gone 11 years, but his loyal customers still remember him as a fixture at the front door — always in a three-piece suit — greeting them and passing out lollipops to their children.
    Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Before long, servers passing out menus began offering drinks to people waiting in line.
    Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 6 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • This July, the EU enacted one of their demands, abolishing the customs duty exemption below €150 and introducing a temporary €3 duty per item.
    Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Others, like abolishing the Senate and Supreme Court, are more controversial and used by Republicans to hammer DSA candidates as out of step with the American mainstream.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Portland took an early lead, but the Pride showed fight and kept it close before collapsing in the last 20 minutes.
    Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
  • This halts the nuclear fusion process — which involves converting that hydrogen to helium — leading to the stars collapsing and shedding their outer layers to become a white dwarf with around the mass of the sun crammed into the width of Earth.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Blacking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blacking%20out. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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