Synonyms of fell

fell 1 of 2

verb

1

as in to down

to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall

a champion boxer who was shockingly felled in the first round

Synonyms & Similar Words

• down
• drop
• hit
• floor
• topple
• smack
• knock over
• slap
• mow (down)
• knock down
• prostrate
• level
• pound
• slam
• bang
• punch
• bowl (down or over)
• thump
• overthrow
• knock out
• poke
• whack
• throw down
• hammer
• jab
• smite
• paste
• swipe
• belt
• slug
• bash
• bludgeon
• sock
• clobber
• swat
• KO
• whale
• slog
• kayo
• thwack
• wallop

2

as in to mow

to bring down by cutting

the settlers began the daunting task of felling the mighty trees that blanketed the island

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mow
• cut (down)
• hew
• chop (down)
• demolish
• flatten
• tear down
• level
• raze
• bulldoze

3

as in to kill

to deprive of life

the quest for a cure for malaria, the disease that felled so many during the digging of the Panama Canal

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kill
• destroy
• slay
• take
• carry off
• claim
• dispatch
• off
• do for
• croak
• do away with
• murder
• do in
• slaughter
• cut down
• make away with
• assassinate
• take out
• finish
• whack
• put away
• get
• waste
• neutralize
• smite
• kill off
• butcher
• blot out
• snuff
• decimate
• annihilate
• mow
• rub out
• ice
• execute
• bump off
• massacre
• terminate
• knock off
• put down
• suicide
• scrag
• martyr
• euthanize

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restore
• revive
• raise
• animate
• resurrect
• resuscitate
• nurture

fell

2 of 2

adjective

1

as in lethal

likely to cause or capable of causing death

planning for the distribution of resources in case of some fell event

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lethal
• deadly
• fatal
• infectious
• poisonous
• killer
• mortal
• deathly
• terminal
• infective
• toxic
• murderous
• dangerous
• harmful
• baleful
• vital
• injurious
• pestilent
• destructive
• hazardous
• serious
• threatening
• ugly
• pernicious
• bloody
• baneful
• risky
• virulent
• perilous
• grave
• noxious
• deleterious
• truculent
• sanguine
• menacing
• sanguinary
• grievous
• pestilential
• jeopardizing
• unhealthy
• sublethal
• unsound
• parlous
• internecine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• healthy
• nonfatal
• beneficial
• wholesome
• healthful
• useful
• salutary
• nonlethal
• advantageous
• restorative
• remedial
• salubrious
• corrective
• tonic
• safe
• curative
• alleviative
• nontoxic
• nonpoisonous

2

as in savage

violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition

a once-mighty nation conquered by a fell and barbarous enemy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• savage
• fierce
• vicious
• ferocious
• grim
• merciless
• ruthless
• murdering
• brute
• murderous
• relentless
• menacing
• threatening
• wild
• feisty
• bloody
• belligerent
• contentious
• militant
• scrappy
• ravenous
• combative
• pugnacious
• assaultive
• discordant
• chippy
• warlike
• confrontational
• sanguine
• pitiless
• barbaric
• bellicose
• implacable
• quarrelsome
• heartless
• uncivilized
• inhuman
• gladiatorial
• argumentative
• unrelenting
• truculent
• in-your-face
• sanguinary
• disputatious
• bloodthirsty
• brawly
• bestial
• inhumane
• wanton
• homicidal
• bare-knuckle
• take-no-prisoners
• blood-and-guts
• voracious
• rapacious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• mild
• warm
• gentle
• friendly
• tame
• congenial
• kind
• hearty
• cordial
• compliant
• submissive
• genial
• amicable
• merciful
• benign
• human
• companionable
• compassionate
• peaceful
• amiable
• unaggressive
• pacific
• comradely
• peaceable
• warmhearted
• cultured
• civilized
• humane
• obliging
• complaisant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fell

Verb

The storm felled trees and power lines and caused serious flooding that swept some 100 homes from their foundations on the Big Island, authorities said. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

The return to form is all the more stunning given that book sales overall are barely rising, and Amazon, which nearly felled Barnes & Noble in the 2010s, is still a threat. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026

Adjective

This single electrochemical platform solves both problems in one fell swoop. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026

Twain and Marie-Anne became close friends, and Twain was shocked to learn that Marie-Anne and Lange had been allegedly carrying on an extramarital affair—losing both her husband and her best friend in one fell swoop. — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 31 July 2026