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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of extinguishing
While lighting candles of various colors is part of its veneration, Saint Death has nothing to do with fires or extinguishing them.
—
Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
As Mathias Jensen’s 95th-minute strike clattered into the net, at once extinguishing Manchester United’s stuttering attempt to come back from two early goals down at Brentford on Saturday lunchtime, a lot of attention turned to the away dugout.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
After extinguishing the fire, officials found Robert Hill, 44, deceased with severe burns, apparent head trauma, and signs of decomposition, according to Melesa Johnson with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
The flight, which was headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted, with flight attendants extinguishing the device and declaring an emergency, as Fox 5 and other outlets reported.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Moisture of extinction was reached across most of the fire, extinguishing fine dead fuels.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Robust and verifiable world models could uncover, if not the El Dorado of AGI, then at least a scientifically plausible tool for extinguishing AI hallucinations, enabling reliable reasoning, and increasing the interpretability of AI systems.
—John Pavlus, Quanta Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025
For decades, fire-extinguishing foams containing PFAS seeped into the local aquifer during training exercises.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Casner said fire crews from Prospect, Southington and Wolcott assisted in extinguishing the fire.
—Kellie Love, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2025
Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
As Mathias Jensen’s 95th-minute strike clattered into the net, at once extinguishing Manchester United’s stuttering attempt to come back from two early goals down at Brentford on Saturday lunchtime, a lot of attention turned to the away dugout.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
After extinguishing the fire, officials found Robert Hill, 44, deceased with severe burns, apparent head trauma, and signs of decomposition, according to Melesa Johnson with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
The flight, which was headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted, with flight attendants extinguishing the device and declaring an emergency, as Fox 5 and other outlets reported.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Moisture of extinction was reached across most of the fire, extinguishing fine dead fuels.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Robust and verifiable world models could uncover, if not the El Dorado of AGI, then at least a scientifically plausible tool for extinguishing AI hallucinations, enabling reliable reasoning, and increasing the interpretability of AI systems.
—John Pavlus, Quanta Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025
For decades, fire-extinguishing foams containing PFAS seeped into the local aquifer during training exercises.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Casner said fire crews from Prospect, Southington and Wolcott assisted in extinguishing the fire.
—Kellie Love, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinguishing
Verb
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The clouds billowed as far east as New York, choking farm economies in the middle of the country and sending millions of people on the move.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The two eventually fell to the floor of the bus, and the choking continued, according to the complaint.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
And candidates who stoked fear in voters — with the threat of towering multi-family complexes destroying their communities or costly local infrastructure projects driving up taxes — lost by clear margins.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Derek Lopez, 27, was fired from his role at the university after he was caught on camera destroying a Turning Point display.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In the clip, the then-6-year-old can be seen walking with his iPad to the next room and shushing everyone.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Booing begins, and then shushing, and then booing again.—
Matthew Shen Goodman,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This rich yet silky balm delivers up to 24 hours of moisture, instantly quenching dry, chapped lips and locking it in for lasting softness.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
25 Oct. 2025
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Traditional methods rely on heating metals to extreme temperatures, then rapidly quenching them to trap atoms in a chaotic arrangement.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The military showed us a map of Hamas tunnel routes Israeli forces are still discovering and demolishing in the area.—
Daniel Estrin,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Most recently, crews began demolishing the East Wing of the White House.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Dozens of pending lawsuits accuse churches of shielding predators, silencing victims and allowing abuse to fester unchecked.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The British did not have legislation as all-silencing as this.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Days earlier, a blizzard hit the country, blanketing it in snow.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
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Hirschhorn wrote that Beijing’s surveillance abilities were nothing compared to the half-million surveillance cameras blanketing London.—
Byron Tau,
Fortune,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Chiefs have seen some of league’s premier running backs — such as Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs — and have met each challenge, preventing those elite players from ruining the defensive game plan.—
Emily Curiel,
Kansas City Star,
26 Oct. 2025
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Clark reiterated his belief that the Dodgers are not ruining baseball.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extinguishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinguishing. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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