as in erased
to destroy all traces of
time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here
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Recent Examples of expunged
Most distressingly to protesters, there is no way to request the DNA samples’ destruction, and the process to get DNA profiles expunged from the database comes with extra costs and could take as long as five years.
—
Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 7 May 2026
The district attorney’s office dismissed Bennett’s charge, Dougherty said, and records related to her case were expunged per Colorado law – including the original police report.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
There is a process for requesting to have your DNA expunged from CODIS, according to the FBI, but Glaberson, coauthor of the report, said very few people appear to have successfully done so, meaning their DNA will likely remain there in perpetuity.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
In September, roughly a month after Kansas City received the federal subpoena for records related to Washington, the nonprofit leader filed petitions in both state and federal courts to have his criminal records expunged.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2026
Hardin went on to work for the Precinct 4 constable's office and has since had his criminal case expunged.
—Nicole Hensley, Houston Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026
One person's success Eliana, a program participant, said the most rewarding part was staying sober and having her felonies expunged.
—Claire Osborn, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
Unusual efforts to clear records A felony charge against a CPD officer — even one stemming from an off-duty incident — is relatively uncommon, and recent efforts by other former officers to have their criminal charges expunged have led to mixed results.
—Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
According to Jefferson County Circuit Court records, Soto-Pantoja is part of a pretrial diversion program that allows for a criminal case to be expunged after five years of law-abiding behavior, including paying fees and passing drug tests, Mascagni said.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 19 Feb. 2026
Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 7 May 2026
The district attorney’s office dismissed Bennett’s charge, Dougherty said, and records related to her case were expunged per Colorado law – including the original police report.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
There is a process for requesting to have your DNA expunged from CODIS, according to the FBI, but Glaberson, coauthor of the report, said very few people appear to have successfully done so, meaning their DNA will likely remain there in perpetuity.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
In September, roughly a month after Kansas City received the federal subpoena for records related to Washington, the nonprofit leader filed petitions in both state and federal courts to have his criminal records expunged.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2026
Hardin went on to work for the Precinct 4 constable's office and has since had his criminal case expunged.
—Nicole Hensley, Houston Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026
One person's success Eliana, a program participant, said the most rewarding part was staying sober and having her felonies expunged.
—Claire Osborn, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
Unusual efforts to clear records A felony charge against a CPD officer — even one stemming from an off-duty incident — is relatively uncommon, and recent efforts by other former officers to have their criminal charges expunged have led to mixed results.
—Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
According to Jefferson County Circuit Court records, Soto-Pantoja is part of a pretrial diversion program that allows for a criminal case to be expunged after five years of law-abiding behavior, including paying fees and passing drug tests, Mascagni said.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expunged
Verb
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These Knicks, who erased a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, just don’t quit.—
Tim Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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The matchup emerged after Raman erased a roughly 40,000-vote election night deficit against Pratt and overtook him in subsequent ballot count updates.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Key Background The United States eradicated screwworm in the 1960s through a massive sterile fly program, but outbreaks in Mexico and Central America have raised concerns about the parasite moving north again.—
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
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This sequence of events used to occur regularly in the US and Central America; screwworm was endemic here but was eradicated after a concerted, decades-long campaign to annihilate its populations.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Dillon wants to see intimate measurement questions abolished altogether during casting.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
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The golden goal was abolished in 2004 by the International Football Association Board after negative feedback from coaches, referees and players.—
Kierra Frazier,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The current San Geronimo Chapel was built in 1850 to replace a church destroyed in the Mexican American War.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
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The video and the SCE data offer proof that the 100-year-old line, which hadn’t been used since the early 1970s, became re-electrified and sparked the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena and surrounding areas, attorneys say.—
Tony Saavedra,
Daily News,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expunged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expunged. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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