Synonyms of extinguishing

extinguishing

verb

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• choking
• quenching
• blanketing
• dousing
• smothering
• putting out
• suffocating
• snuffing (out)
• blowing out
• stubbing
• stamping (out)
• snubbing (out)
• rubbing out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lighting
• firing
• igniting
• kindling
• inflaming

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroying
• demolishing
• ruining
• shattering
• wrecking
• devastating
• smashing
• overcoming
• damaging
• wasting
• annihilating
• vaporizing
• eroding
• decimating
• razing
• ravaging
• pulverizing
• killing
• marring
• dismantling
• defeating
• removing
• crippling
• crushing
• totaling
• subduing
• creaming
• tearing down
• pulling down
• nuking
• blasting
• wracking
• breaking
• doing in
• desolating
• rubbing out
• conquering
• injuring
• impairing
• trimming
• dissolving
• eradicating
• licking
• disintegrating
• harming
• mastering
• surmounting
• spoiling
• mutilating
• deteriorating
• obliterating
• whipping
• prevailing (over)
• dynamiting
• routing
• exterminating
• disfiguring
• clobbering
• winning (against)
• expunging
• undoing
• liquidating
• extirpating
• thrashing
• beating
• defacing
• slaughtering
• scouring
• vitiating
• wearing (away)
• mangling
• besting
• gutting
• disassembling
• triumphing (over)
• assassinating
• murdering
• plundering
• executing
• sweeping (away)
• effacing
• looting
• vandalizing
• sacking
• walloping
• scotching
• overmatching
• trampling
• blowing up
• despoiling
• dispatching
• washing out
• pillaging
• slaying
• wiping out
• massacring
• trouncing
• taking down
• overbearing
• zapping
• trashing
• cutting down
• stamping (out)
• blotting out
• drubbing
• unmaking
• butchering
• skunking
• killing off
• felling
• rooting (out)
• dilapidating
• snuffing (out)
• unbuilding
• mowing (down)
• taking out
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• raising
• erecting
• creating
• repairing
• fixing
• rearing
• setting up
• producing
• making
• forming
• establishing
• putting up
• inventing
• shaping
• manufacturing
• protecting
• assembling
• preserving
• forging
• organizing
• fashioning
• saving
• constituting
• framing
• molding
• instituting
• fabricating
• reconditioning
• patching
• revamping
• conserving
• mending
• restoring
• founding
• bringing about
• doctoring
• rebuilding
• reconstructing
• remodeling
• fathering
• renovating

3

as in shushing

to stop the noise or speech of

her final, telling point extinguished her opponents on the city council

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shushing
• silencing
• quieting
• muting
• settling
• hushing
• quelling
• stilling
• squelching
• dumbing
• shutting up
• quietening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stirring
• agitating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of extinguishing

The book resuscitates the childhood feeling that most of us spend our lives tamping down and dismissing, if not completely extinguishing. — Chris Ware, The New York Review of Books, 12 Aug. 2026

Crews were making progress on extinguishing the fire after moving to defensive mode. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 30 July 2026

After extinguishing the fire, emergency crews discovered the eight victims inside the residence. — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026

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

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