as in fails
to be unsuccessful
even at the reception, some were predicting that the marriage would flame out before the fancy china ever got used
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Recent Examples of flames out
Firefighters instead used heavy equipment to cover it with dirt to put the flames out.
—
Brandon Downs, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Our dream of going back to the moon and onto Mars and more distant worlds—not least to ensure our species’ survival before the sun flames out and engulfs most of the solar system—can be seen as just one more step in evolution’s long march.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
Brandon Downs, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Our dream of going back to the moon and onto Mars and more distant worlds—not least to ensure our species’ survival before the sun flames out and engulfs most of the solar system—can be seen as just one more step in evolution’s long march.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flames out
Verb
-
Conversely, state governors have the same ability when the federal government fails to perform their duties, under the Ninth and Tenth amendments.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
-
If the core players are anything other than spectacular, the team fails.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Disrupt that window through late nights, alcohol, a warm bedroom or fragmented sleep, and the surge collapses.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2026
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As the video demonstrates, von Ensingen’s drawing (not in the show, alas) collapses all the levels, complete with stairs, setbacks, vaults, and columns, onto a single plane.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
One of the best bigs in [expletive] basketball history flops.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
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Fortunately for shareholders, the stock grants come with a feature similar to equity options that somewhat reduces Musk’s payday, especially in a case like the one above where the plan flops.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
29 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Why the quest will fall short And finally Shohei Ohtani hits three homers and strikes out 10 in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
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Perfect Tom strikes out once again, not on the look but on the flavors.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The cushions are bouncy and covered in a fade-resistant material, and when not in use, the chair folds to save space.—
Shea Simmons,
Southern Living,
21 Apr. 2026
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The folding lock design, such as the Kryptonite Kryptolok Folding Bicycle Lock, folds down to a small size for transport.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The United States bombs Iran's nuclear facilities days later.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
1 Mar. 2026
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Page Six gets a Hollywood edition Papps declined last week to reveal what stories his reporters were chasing and what bombs the political columnists will throw in its first editions.—
Christopher Weber,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But dermatologists say that framing misses the bigger picture.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
6 May 2026
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Levi’s Levi’s never misses with its sales.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Green struggles to score 16 points in an empty gym.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
8 May 2026
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The departures of certain Kaiser Permanente offices and a string of prominent restaurant and bar closures have come to symbolize the city’s struggles to retain employers and attract new ones.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flames out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flames%20out. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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