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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of extinguishing
Firefighters safely rescued the person from the home before extinguishing the fire.
—
Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
The robot identifies the fire’s source remotely and assesses the situation before approaching the fire source and directly extinguishing the blaze.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Mar. 2026
Should a fire break out, the walls, seat backs, and tray tables are made with self-extinguishing polymers that won’t give off toxic fumes.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
The clock might have struck midnight for a team of such enormous expectations and possibility, losing 83-74 in the orange haze of Moby Arena and likely extinguishing their already dwindling hopes of an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
The captain turned the Lac La Belle back to Milwaukee, but waves came crashing over the vessel, extinguishing its boilers.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
The captain turned the Lac La Belle back toward Milwaukee but huge waves came crashing over her, extinguishing her boilers.
—Todd Richmond, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
The ocean followed her, flooding the holes, extinguishing the heat.
—Tommy Orange, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Jan. 2026
Riot police still patrolled these areas on motorbikes, and the city’s fire brigade and municipal workers were out cleaning streets and extinguishing fires.
—Davood Moradian, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
The robot identifies the fire’s source remotely and assesses the situation before approaching the fire source and directly extinguishing the blaze.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Mar. 2026
Should a fire break out, the walls, seat backs, and tray tables are made with self-extinguishing polymers that won’t give off toxic fumes.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
The clock might have struck midnight for a team of such enormous expectations and possibility, losing 83-74 in the orange haze of Moby Arena and likely extinguishing their already dwindling hopes of an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
The captain turned the Lac La Belle back to Milwaukee, but waves came crashing over the vessel, extinguishing its boilers.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
The captain turned the Lac La Belle back toward Milwaukee but huge waves came crashing over her, extinguishing her boilers.
—Todd Richmond, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
The ocean followed her, flooding the holes, extinguishing the heat.
—Tommy Orange, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Jan. 2026
Riot police still patrolled these areas on motorbikes, and the city’s fire brigade and municipal workers were out cleaning streets and extinguishing fires.
—Davood Moradian, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinguishing
Verb
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Israel attacked oil depots on Sunday, igniting huge fires that smothered Tehran in thick, choking smoke, amid what residents have said is the heaviest bombing of the war so far.—
Patrick Reevell,
ABC News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
This often results in a choking, snorting, or gasping sound as normal breathing resumes.—
Daniel Combs,
Verywell Health,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Iran itself is destroying homes and schools, killing and wounding dozens, and disrupting daily life, sometimes beyond recognition.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
But destroying much of Iran’s ability to project power and attacking the security forces that suppress the Iranian public will surely hasten the regime’s collapse.—
Dennis Ross,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Levy sat on the floor, watching like a proud father and shushing whisperers.—
Jane Bua,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Top sleep aid for kids This extremely popular sound machine uses an authentic human voice to calm babies to sleep with a calming, shushing sound.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This rich yet silky balm delivers up to 24 hours of hydration, instantly quenching dry, chapped lips and locking in moisture for lasting softness.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Rather than just quenching the plasma with gas or frozen pellets, the new study investigates magnetic island dynamics.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Simply demolishing it would cost a tiny fraction of that.—
Jason Rantala,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
The city should follow that advice, and scrap the idea of demolishing its historic civic architecture.—
Mark Lamster
Architecture Critic,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Instead of silencing the public and turning them away, Democrats should stay and do the job they were elected to do.—
Kaitlin McCallum,
Hartford Courant,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Simmons said Tarrant families are tired of O’Hare’s bullying, silencing and antics.—
Rachel Royster
March 5,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Guests are greeted by a wrought iron entry gate, courtyard and small forest of mature live oak trees blanketing the front of the home.—
Julianna Duennes Russ,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
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Lots of dry snow blanketing an equal amount of bigger and intermediate runs, making Big White Ski Resort a great choice for mixed-level groups.—
Jonny Bierman,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The president, who admits this all could be challenged in court, urged the panel to back the SCORE Act, which would preempt state regulation of NIL payments, which the Commander in Chief says are especially ruining women’s sports.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
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Google Nest WiFi Deal Bad Wi-Fi has a way of ruining everything.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extinguishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinguishing. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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