deleting

verb

present participle of delete
as in canceling
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it the teacher deleted the last line of the student's essay, wisely sensing that it lessened the impact

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 deleting Tarter said RealTime Reservation keeps hotel and brand information separate and follows GDPR requirements, including procedures for deleting guest data. — Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026 Within minutes, deleting the post only made more people want to see it. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026 The league hasn’t taken any action against Bueckers or Reese yet besides deleting the tweet. — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 July 2026 Jonathan Thomas kept deleting text messages from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, assuming the couple's digital wedding invitation was spam. — Bryan West, USA Today, 18 July 2026 At the time, Grande confirmed the news by deleting Instagram posts with Alvarez and sharing some telling tweets. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 16 July 2026 The affidavit also said Roper admitted to deleting text messages between him and Erving. — Holly Yan, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 Roper also allegedly admitted to deleting text messages between him and Erving, according to the affidavit. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026 The document also indicates Roper admitted to deleting text messages between him and Erving from his phone. — Briseida Holguin, CBS News, 13 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deleting
  1. canceling
  2. erasing
  3. removing
  4. censoring
Verb
  • Last week, the company agreed to hold the merger until five days after a trial verdict or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first, canceling the injunction hearing and conceding the calendar to its opponents.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Other in-flight amenities include noise-canceling headphones, large pillow, 100% wool blanket, and an amenity kit.
    — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of canceling
Verb
  • The record-setting Warriors were only a few months removed from erasing a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate Durant’s Thunder in the Western Conference finals.
    — Devon Henderson, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
  • On December 8, 2025, Instagram permanently terminated the account @nipeople, a project by artist, journalist, and activist Emma Shapiro, instantly erasing years of work and sparking a legal debate over digital freedom.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of erasing
Verb
  • Advocates say the strategy encourages more diverse applicants, like first-generation students, by removing barriers to entry and boosting awareness of the often-generous scholarships available at private institutions.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Harris indicated the markets for those players were not good enough to warrant removing them from the current team.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of removing
Verb
  • Aguirre’s interviews are carefully edited with bleeps, censoring the ‘cabr—s’, the ‘hijos de p—s’ and ‘carambas’.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 4 July 2026
  • Vance asserted that the 2020 election was rigged due to tech companies censoring information.
    — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026
Definition of censoring

Browse Nearby Words

deletes
deleting
deletion
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Deleting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deleting. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on deleting

Nglish: Translation of deleting for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All