as in to ring
to make the clear sound heard when metal vibrates
the church bells knelled to mark the death of the nation's beloved leader
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in indicator
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of knell
Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Dec. 2025
That should be a death knell for nearly any team, much less one in a reset year.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025
However, Seymour views Medicare coverage as a catalyst for merger and acquisition activity rather than an immediate death knell.
—Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2025
Halligan was the only prosecutor to present the initial cases against James and Comey to a grand jury, making her disqualification a death knell for the cases.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for knell
Noun
The stark acknowledgment likely signals the official death knell of the 2019 agreement that largely stopped the two states from swiping Kansas City metro businesses from one another.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Dec. 2025
That should be a death knell for nearly any team, much less one in a reset year.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025
However, Seymour views Medicare coverage as a catalyst for merger and acquisition activity rather than an immediate death knell.
—Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2025
Halligan was the only prosecutor to present the initial cases against James and Comey to a grand jury, making her disqualification a death knell for the cases.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for knell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knell
Verb
-
Both players threw down their gloves and their helmets and the bell rang.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Those words ring uncomfortably true today.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This last part seemed to be a joke, eliciting a peal of laughter from his wife.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Amid grills cooking savory barbecue, bubbles blowing from an ice cream truck, face painting and peals of laughter from kids in a nearby bouncy house, Justine Mosely Stephens was struggling not to tear up.—
Darcel Rockett,
Chicago Tribune,
6 July 2025
Noun
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Maybe that’s the greatest indicator of how bad the fractures are between fans and media.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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Democrat Taylor Rehmet’s defeat of Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the longtime GOP district has garnered national attention, as some look to the race as an indicator of what could be to come in the November midterm elections.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But the bell started tolling in 2019, during Mayor Catherine Pugh’s book scandal.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Jan. 2026
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The bells in the church nearby are tolling.—
Rocío Muñoz-Ledo,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In North Carolina, a juvenile was shot in the leg after a homeowner fired at a vehicle during a late-night ding-dong ditch-style prank, according to police.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
17 Jan. 2026
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Legal experts note people playing ding-dong ditch can also face charges, with offenses ranging from criminal trespass to disorderly conduct.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Forecast models show those same signals developing again, suggesting Ohio’s winter may linger longer than usual despite Buckeye Chuck not seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
3 Feb. 2026
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Smartphones also transmit location signals, device identifiers, advertising IDs, usage patterns and app behavior data.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The imagery of the song chimes with some of Bowie’s deepest spiritual preoccupations.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
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The tradition involves eating a grape on every clock gong before midnight—so yes, that means eating one grape every second when the clock starts chiming.—
Fiona Ward,
Glamour,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
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Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Knell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knell. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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