1
as in downed
to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall
a champion boxer who was shockingly felled in the first round
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2
as in mowed
to bring down by cutting
the settlers began the daunting task of felling the mighty trees that blanketed the island
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in killed
to deprive of life
the quest for a cure for malaria, the disease that felled so many during the digging of the Panama Canal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of felled
Now that same leader can be felled by an Instagram pile-on or a spurious Substack rumor, and is likelier to shy from the long, slow, gritty work of governance.
—
Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t make it to the start line of the 2026 French Open, felled by a wrist injury.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 31 May 2026
Piccotto effectively plays the regret of a mother forced to reckon with the loss of a child, the horror of engaging with that child again, while also grappling with her own role as a mother felled by the scourge of addiction.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
Reality check When Pocahontas sat for Van de Passe, his portrait did more than create a resemblance of the young woman, who would die the following year, soon after leaving London – felled either by disease or, as a Virginia tribe’s oral history suggests, poison.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for felled
Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t make it to the start line of the 2026 French Open, felled by a wrist injury.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 31 May 2026
Piccotto effectively plays the regret of a mother forced to reckon with the loss of a child, the horror of engaging with that child again, while also grappling with her own role as a mother felled by the scourge of addiction.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
Reality check When Pocahontas sat for Van de Passe, his portrait did more than create a resemblance of the young woman, who would die the following year, soon after leaving London – felled either by disease or, as a Virginia tribe’s oral history suggests, poison.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for felled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for felled
Verb
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Vanoven urged residents to stay home as crews worked the active scene, warning that downed power lines and debris would be harder to see after dark.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
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Storms could also cause power outages and downed trees.—
Tammie Souza,
CBS News,
21 June 2026
Verb
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To help prevent borers, keep weedy areas around the garden mowed well.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
17 June 2026
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The lawn around the pond had been mowed without anybody picking up the trash beforehand.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Six people were on board the plane, including one person who was killed in the incident, police said.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
23 June 2026
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Days before the five-year anniversary of the 2021 building collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside, the federal government has published findings that determined the structure of the Champlain Towers South condominium started failing about three weeks before the catastrophe.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
Verb
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Another ten minutes on the train over to the terminal – yes, the terminal our flight dropped us at originally.—
Josh Rivera,
USA Today,
21 June 2026
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Tom Kim dropped two shots at the wrong time and shot 72.—
Doug Ferguson,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
Verb
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The crash sparked a fire that destroyed the aircraft, which was operating as a skydiving flight, according to the NTSB.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
16 June 2026
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The fire burned more than 60 acres and destroyed several structures, including homes, according to CBS Los Angeles.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Standing before it, Khalaf saw how the wall of the adjacent building had toppled onto the ground floor, flooding the shop with rubble and coating everything with a film of fine gray dust.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
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The silo then toppled and the surrounding area became engulfed in the fire, the office said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Israeli strikes hit several towns in southern Lebanon on Saturday morning local time, killing at least five people, Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported, despite Israel and Hezbollah renewing their truce Friday.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
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Temperatures are expected to soar on June 22 in parts of Oregon and Washington, possibly hitting 100 degrees in Portland and at least 90 degrees in Seattle.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Felled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/felled. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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