as in dying
to stop living
the patient was fading fast, and doctors expected him to flatline before the night was over
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Recent Examples of flatlining
The rest are flatlining or folding entirely.
—
Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Despite a global pandemic flatlining the music industry, Hynes contributed to albums by Lorde and Turnstile, crafted film scores for Passing and Master Gardener, and just last year penned some original music for the Broadway play Job.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Despite a global pandemic flatlining the music industry, Hynes contributed to albums by Lorde and Turnstile, crafted film scores for Passing and Master Gardener, and just last year penned some original music for the Broadway play Job.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatlining
Verb
-
The thriller series was left on a cliffhanger, with President Rayburn (Michael McKean) dying at the end of season two.—
Abid Rahman,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
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Women who miss their first screening appointment for breast cancer could have a 40% higher long-term risk of dying from the disease, according to a new study.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With less money being invested by record labels into touring, that has created a top-heavy artist hierarchy, with the rich getting richer and the poor and middle class falling by the wayside.—
Roy Trakin,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
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The group acknowledged a need to modernize the government's data gathering processes, which have been hampered by falling survey response rates.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flatlining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatlining. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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