expunge

verb

ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
Definition of expungenext
as in to erase
to destroy all traces of time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here

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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 expunge Still, very much despite herself, Cusk has not succeeded in expunging character from her work. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026 In the early 20th century, a massive national mosquito-eradication effort, which led to the CDC’s creation, ultimately expunged the disease from the country. — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026 Five students were charged after the incident, but all of them have entered diversionary programs to have the charges expunged. — Laura Fay, CBS News, 3 Aug. 2026 Rignol also wants his F reversed and his disciplinary records expunged. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for expunge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expunge
  1. erase
  2. eradicate
  3. abolish
  4. destroy
Verb
  • That means the race winner could potentially gain 75 points in a single race on another driver, and that has the potential to erase gaps very quickly.
    — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Trump is moving to strip California’s emissions authority, end tax credits and erase electric vehicle sales mandates, reshaping the national market while leaving the state’s clean-car future tangled in Washington-level uncertainty.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of erase
Verb
  • The team has eradicated every invasive casuarina pine, the Australian import whose needles poison the native plants beneath it, along with invasive sea grapes that chew up the dunes.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Screwworm had been considered eradicated from the US, Mexico and most of Central America decades ago.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of eradicate
Verb
  • Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is vowing to abolish California’s DMV and cap annual vehicle registration at $73, framing the proposal as a strike against soaring living costs.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Karishma Manzur, a medical scientist and first-time candidate, supported Medicare for All and abolishing ICE while declining money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
    — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of abolish
Verb
  • After Israel destroyed Jenin refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002, a young girl looked into Mohammad Bakri’s camera and said that Palestinians would live proudly as eagles and die standing like lions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of destroy

Browse Nearby Words

expulsions
expunge
expunged
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Cite this Entry

“Expunge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expunge. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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