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
• overcoming
• smashing
• damaging
• wasting
• annihilating
• vaporizing
• decimating
• eroding
• razing
• pulverizing
• ravaging
• killing
• marring
• defeating
• dismantling
• totaling
• removing
• crippling
• crushing
• creaming
• tearing down
• subduing
• pulling down
• nuking
• wracking
• blasting
• doing in
• desolating
• breaking
• rubbing out
• conquering
• injuring
• impairing
• trimming
• dissolving
• eradicating
• licking
• disintegrating
• harming
• mastering
• surmounting
• mutilating
• spoiling
• deteriorating
• obliterating
• whipping
• prevailing (over)
• dynamiting
• routing
• exterminating
• disfiguring
• clobbering
• winning (against)
• expunging
• liquidating
• undoing
• extirpating
• thrashing
• defacing
• beating
• scouring
• vitiating
• wearing (away)
• mangling
• slaughtering
• besting
• gutting
• disassembling
• triumphing (over)
• plundering
• murdering
• assassinating
• sweeping (away)
• effacing
• executing
• looting
• walloping
• vandalizing
• sacking
• scotching
• overmatching
• trampling
• blowing up
• despoiling
• washing out
• pillaging
• dispatching
• wiping out
• slaying
• 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

Authorities said late Sunday that the Hawk fire had stayed in its footprint and firefighters were extinguishing hotspots while working to keep the fire from jumping a highway and reaching areas filled with homes and businesses. — Haven Daly, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Authorities said late Sunday that the Hawk Fire had stayed in its footprint and firefighters were extinguishing hotspots while working to keep the fire from jumping a main highway and reaching areas filled with homes and businesses. — ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026

Firefighters were then able to contain the fire to a single room, extinguishing the blaze in approximately 15 minutes after crews arrived. — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 22 Aug. 2026

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

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

On June 17, after extinguishing the blaze, police entered the home but didn’t find Sanchez-Muñoz. — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 June 2026