CLEARING OUT Synonyms: 185 Similar and Opposite Words

clearing out 1 of 2

noun

as in withdrawal

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Dissimilar Words

clearing out

2 of 2

verb

present participle of clear out

as in dispersing

to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart police used tear gas to clear out the demonstrators

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in escaping

to get free from a dangerous or confining situation everyone cleared out as soon as the fire alarm began sounding

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in departing

to leave a place often for another the lunch crowd usually clears out by 2:00 p.m. at the latest

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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 clearing out

Verb

On the subway system, workers had rolled out some flood mitigation tools at Coney Island and Howard Beach stations, and had begun pre-storm work of covering up system vents and clearing out drainage systems. — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 Deciding when to downsize is highly personal and contingent on your unique circumstances, and there is no right time to start clearing out your stuff and looking to the future. — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 17 Sep. 2026 Government troops patrolled the streets, ambulances rushed to the victims, and residents ventured out assessing damage and clearing out bloodied clothes from the pavement. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 While Vonnegut toiled in a malt syrup factory, several other prisoners were assigned to labor details clearing out the rubble left behind from the bombings. — Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026 Smoke from wildfires may lower air quality during the day, clearing out overnight as the storm system moves in. — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 27 Aug. 2026 His team began clearing out an informal dump site, eventually transforming it into a community garden. — Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2026 The Call Her Daddy host, who is pregnant with her first child, has been clearing out other expectant moms' baby registries on social media. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026 Residents have begun clearing out their homes and dragging debris to the end of their driveways as Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office personnel remain in the area, assessing the damage. — Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 17 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clearing out

Noun

The plan included additional Israeli military withdrawals from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, the arrival of an international peacekeeping force and a new apolitical Palestinian government to administer the territory's day-to-day affairs.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
That includes early withdrawals from retirement accounts, with 29%; reducing or eliminating retirement contributions, 20%; or taking on high-interest debt, 18%.

— Lorie Konish, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of withdrawal

Verb

Last year, Vought mandated that the NIH fund grants in their entirety up front, rather than dispersing funds on a yearly basis.

— STAT, STAT, 23 Sep. 2026
By dispersing weapons across submarines, aircraft, land forces, unmanned systems, and allied bases, the United States could create multiple threats that China would have to account for simultaneously.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of dispersing

Verb

The victim can be seen running full speed away from a man chasing him down with a knife before escaping into a building in a harrowing video taken from a surveillance camera, posted on X by Crown Heights Shmira.

— Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026
There’s no escaping the feeling of this mass, and no magic feats of engineering, like with Rivian or various German automakers, will mask this.

— Joel Feder, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of escaping

Verb

Thanksgiving The most expensive and popular day when departing for the holiday is Wednesday.

— Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
On the heels of Steven Kolb departing the Council of Fashion Designers of America, CFDA vice chair Aurora James and her nonprofit, the Fifteen Percent Pledge, have been sued for fraud.

— Shane O’Neill, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of departing

Noun

Verlander, who is currently in his second stint with the Tigers, was the oldest player in the majors prior to his retirement on Saturday.

— Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026
Kahn’s heirs unloaded the place in 1939, a few years after his death, and it was chopped up over the years to serve as retirement housing for city workers, a military training compound, and a boarding school, per Forbes.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of retirement

Verb

The painting belonged to Jacques Goudstikker, a Jewish art dealer who was fleeing the Netherlands for England on a ship in 1940 during World War II.

— Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
This type of maritime migration is different from the once-common arrivals of rafts and other homemade vessels that Cubans are known to use to escape their homeland, and the overloaded freighters and sailboats used by people fleeing Haiti.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of fleeing

Verb

Sally Habbershaw is exiting Mediawan after less than a year to become President of Global Distribution at the BBC’s commercial arm.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026
Sharon Levy is exiting Banijay’s Endemol Shine North America after nearly a decade at the company — including most recently as CEO.

— Michael Schneider, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of exiting

Noun

Public cloud rewards bursty, variable demand, but for always-on workloads, pay-as-you-go premium and data egress fees compound fast.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Special traffic patterns will be implemented along Warner Street, Alluvion Street, Worcester Street, and Bayard Street for game egress.

— Bryan Lynn, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of egress

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clearing off

clearing out

clearings

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Style

“Clearing out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clearing%20out. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of clearing out

noun

verb

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