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
  • Community meetings focus on eradicating the homeless and protecting property values rather than supporting neighbors or providing shelter.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Back then, researchers were focused on eradicating the New World screwworm, a nasty pest that lays its eggs in wounds on living creatures.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • But at a festive National Day meal in Riyadh, where families dined while patriotic songs filled the room, there was a growing sense that the public mood may be darkening.
    — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Verb
  • His body collapses in on itself on the fainting couch in the sitting room.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Verb
  • Some Italian Americans assert that Columbus Day is at its core a celebration of our heritage, and that changing the name would be akin to erasing our history.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Treating those experiences as interchangeable risks erasing the sacrifice behind one of them.
    — Angelette C. Aviles, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • National Hurricane Center specialist Elizabeth Adams said Monday that Nolo was closing in on Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area northwest of the islands.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The 50-day is at $616 and the 200-day at $626, with the 50-day turning higher and closing in on a cross above the longer average for the first time since the winter.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Nussbaum and her colleagues began passing out leaflets at Boston subway and bus stops to women heading to their jobs at downtown office buildings.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Verb
  • Some advocate abolishing the agency, while others offer visions for how to rein it in and reform it.
    — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Now, Xi remains in office after purging political rivals, abolishing presidential term limits and consolidating power.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The possibility -- even likelihood -- of some rickety old thing collapsing under me never occurred to me.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Whether Merz can stabilize his chancellorship and prevent his reform program from collapsing midstream is a question whose outcome may soon become clear.
    — , CNBC, 25 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 30 Sep. 2026.

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