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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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 Her passion for Pol is a flare, burning brightly and extinguishing quickly. — Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026 Chinese authorities have tightened their grip on the media, the legal profession, and civil society, limiting the space for Chinese citizens to discuss mounting social woes and extinguishing emerging calls for deeper political reform. — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026 Crews continued mopping up the fire Monday, strengthening containment lines and extinguishing hot spots at least 300 feet inside the perimeter. — Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Since then, southern Italians have attributed all sorts of miracles to his intercession, including extinguishing the volcanic fires of Mount Vesuvius in 1631. — Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026 After extinguishing the blaze, authorities found two people dead inside a 2019 McLaren. — Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2026 At least three firefighting planes, nine helicopters, 169 fire extinguishing trucks and more than 1,000 firefighters were deployed, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. — ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026 In the aftermath of the massacre, around 258 claims were filed, but the government later enacted the Indemnity Act of 1961, shielding officials from legal liability and extinguishing the claims. — Michelle Gumede, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinguishing
Verb
  • Potential choking hazards such as loose beads or strings should also be avoided.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Lonna Drewes accused Swalwell of drugging, raping and choking her in 2018 during a news conference earlier this year.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • This is the one thing that can stop the agents from destroying us.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Cyberattacks against supermarket refrigeration systems have disrupted grocery operations across Europe, with hackers remotely manipulating temperature controls and destroying perishable food.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim went to 3-0 for the week with a crowd-shushing rally from 2 down to a 2-and-1 victory over Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Verb
  • Hersh was a curious, radical listener who dreamt of quenching his wanderlust by traveling the world.
    — Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Expect art displays from local artists and makers, live music and performances, mouthwatering grub, and a thirst-quenching beer and margarita booth.
    — Ashlyn Ware, Midwest Living, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Factor in the unmatched joy kids get from putting peppermint bark in a bag and demolishing it with a rolling pin?
    — Jillian Pretzel, Parents, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Following the attack, the Israeli military began forcing Palestinian families to leave their homes in parts of the city as forces began demolishing homes and businesses.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Carson didn’t answer her phone right away, silencing it until her husband persuaded her to call back.
    — Stacy Keltner, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026
  • She is whisked off to prison midway through You Can See Everything, all but silencing her for the viewer.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • That reflected both the grey fog blanketing the early ’10s scene and the two collaborators’ advancing years.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Politics as usual As midterm elections approach, candidates up and down the ballot are blanketing the airwaves and digital channels with ads against data centers.
    — Barbara A. Trish, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Someone else even complained about the self-clean feature ruining their appliance.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Most hunters probably would have taken a shot at the five-pointer, ruining their chances for the record-class bull.
    — Rich LaRocco, Outdoor Life, 2 Nov. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Extinguishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinguishing. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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