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
Neuromodulation is necessary for keeping the brain’s activity level in a functional range, preventing it from either flatlining or erupting in seizures.
—
Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
The episode ends with Monty flatlining in the hospital as Cami and their daughters cry for him.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Nov. 2025
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
Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
The episode ends with Monty flatlining in the hospital as Cami and their daughters cry for him.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatlining
Verb
-
By April and May, the winter bugs will transform into flying insects and begin to mate before dying in two or three days.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 May 2026
-
The explosive accusations are the latest chapter in a saga in which Hawthorne, a 135-year-old institution in Stickney just outside Chicago, is trying to restructure its debt and save dozens of jobs while working to rescue the state’s dying horse racing industry.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Colorado went from being the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup to falling eight wins short of that goal in a span of seven days.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
-
Lee had fouled off a pair of pitches to begin the at-bat, falling behind 0-2 before his big swing.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flatlining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatlining. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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