extinguishing

present participle of extinguish
1
as in choking
to cause to cease burning the fire in the skillet was quickly extinguished by slamming the lid on

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2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of a fatal blunder that extinguished all hope that the team would actually win the play-offs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in shushing
to stop the noise or speech of her final, telling point extinguished her opponents on the city council

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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 extinguishing Meraz said his family was extra careful extinguishing their fireworks. Noah Daly july 11, Idaho Statesman, 11 July 2026 After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters found the father dead on the home’s second floor. Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026 The next phase of operations will focus on accessing and extinguishing remaining fire within more interior areas of the building. Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026 Authorities cautioned that extinguishing the fire could take days or even weeks. Iris Salem, CBS News, 20 June 2026 On June 17, after extinguishing the blaze, police entered the home but didn’t find Sanchez-Muñoz. Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 June 2026 Alongside long-standing fire deficits, which resulted from the practice of quickly extinguishing fires rather than allowing low-level fires to burn away forest debris, these factors have escalated the potential for large fires in the West. Mukesh Kumar, The Conversation, 17 June 2026 Firefighters then shifted to mop-up operations, extinguishing hotspots within the containment lines. Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 15 June 2026 The ensuing 11 pitches were all strikes to end the game, extinguishing the Dodgers’ hope and showing again how the Padres are doing this. Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinguishing
Verb
  • Air quality ranging from hazardous to unhealthy is also affecting parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, choking major northeastern cities like Philadelphia, New York City and Baltimore, according to AirNow.
    Ava Berger, NPR, 16 July 2026
  • Swallowed objects like string, hair ties and fabric can cause choking, dental injury or intestinal blockage.
    Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
Verb
  • After flying toward a naval target over the Black Sea, the aircraft launched one of the supersonic missiles from a stand-off distance exceeding 120 kilometers, successfully destroying its target.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
  • Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators are probing a destructive fire that ripped through a Sun Valley strip mall early Sunday morning, destroying a beloved family-run market.
    Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 14 July 2026
Verb
  • Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye.
    Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
  • Wine country with kids in tow doesn’t have to mean a stressful afternoon of shushing and screen time.
    Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Verb
  • The uncomplicated sweetness of blackberries creates a flavorful base for a shrub, the tart, thirst-quenching non-alcoholic beverage.
    Anna Kovel, Martha Stewart, 10 July 2026
  • The actor and new dad, 35, who got his start in the CW show Riverdale, remembers quenching his thirst with cow’s milk after playing outside as a kid.
    Katie Hill, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
Verb
  • Beyond the environmental costs, demolishing and hauling away the remnants of huge buildings is especially expensive in dense cities such as New York.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026
  • This project, which is under review by the city, proposes demolishing the long-defunct Kmart building and bringing residences, shops and a new Publix to the plaza.
    Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026
Verb
  • Widdecombe’s death has shaken British politics, silencing a longtime conservative voice from Parliament and Europe who later became a Reform UK firebrand remembered by friends for personal warmth and sharp humor.
    Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • Meanwhile, Roche has abandoned two Huntington’s gene-silencing drugs after disappointing data, and drugmakers have stepped in to promote Medicare’s new obesity drug discount program.
    Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 10 July 2026
Verb
  • Flock surveillance cameras are blanketing the country, and to no one’s surprise, innocent people are being caught in their dragnet.
    Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 July 2026
  • With one acrobatic slam after another, Yaxel Lendeborg cut through the sleepy atmosphere blanketing the pregame layup lines, injecting some energy into a crowd that was waiting to watch the team’s first summer league game at Chase Center on Friday.
    Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
Verb
  • Plus, one of the biggest things that holds people back from DIY is a fear of ruining their home, but that’s virtually impossible with peel-and-stick wallpaper.
    Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 13 July 2026
  • Clothes moths are indoor pests notorious for ruining the best threads in any closet.
    Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Extinguishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinguishing. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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