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

Countless trees were felled and taken to Eugene for processing in mills or floated up the Willamette to Portland, the sawn trunks chained together in massive, bobbing rafts. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026

That the forest below has not been felled but has swelled, along with its creatures, is hugely the work of Dharana’s owners, the de Souza family. — Horatio Clare, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 June 2026

Adjective

But to imply that the presence of racists in works of fiction makes those works of fiction racist is to short-circuit the intellect and the imagination at one fell swoop. — Spin Team, SPIN, 22 June 2026

Best Early Amazon Prime Day Fashion Deals Get all your summer outfits lined up in one fell swoop. — Kate Donovan, Southern Living, 22 June 2026