knell 1 of 2

Definition of knellnext
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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knell

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of knell
Noun
But the closing of Music Hall seems a particularly poignant death knell. — Michael Calderone, Curbed, 4 Sep. 2026 What’s more, Reid and Sherrell said, condescension from medical providers over cultural beliefs or practices can be a death knell for public health. — Cara Kelly, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026 The job loss alone might be a death knell for the Hollywood community, which Los Angeles County estimates could be in the thousands. — Mike Schur, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026 Experts suggest this isn't a death knell for American and European firms, who are strategically focusing on product refinement and reliability before mass scaling, aiming for sustainable market entry rather than rapid, potentially flawed, volume. — John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for knell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knell
Verb
  • By Fortune’s estimate, SpaceX would need $550 billion in profits and around $3 trillion in revenue to ring the bell by 2035.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Shots rang out again in September as police were trying to break up a fight.
    — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Part performance, part installation, SEAWORLD VENICE opened at the Austrian Pavilion in May with the piercing peal of a colossal bell salvaged from the Venice Lagoon.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • One of the more surreal responses to that experience is applause, which ripples through the audience of Paranormal Activity a beat after all the major scares, like rain settling in after a peal of thunder.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Pastries containing squash for which there is a poster indicating a shelf life of two days under refrigeration, were for sale and at room temperature without time-mark indicators to be discarded.
    — NWA Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Since the advent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, the list of possible indicators that the AI boom was about to go bust is long and keeps getting longer, leaving Wall Street asking each time if the end is finally near.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Despite being published nearly fifty years later, Love Days tolls the same alarm bells as The Story of Avis.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Church bells tolled across the country when Leo’s charter flight landed at Paris’ Orly airport, and more than a million people are expected to turn out to see him.
    — Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • This guy might steal because the pitcher is such a ding-dong at getting the ball to the plate, for example.
    — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Hopefully, now this kid can stop being a moody ass little ding-dong about it.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 May 2026
Noun
  • The signal comes from millions of buying journeys observed in parallel.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The spread on the social media giant's five-year credit default swaps reached all-time highs on Thursday, a signal of growing credit concerns from investors as the company leans deeper into its artificial intelligence spending plans.
    — CJ Haddad, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Bruce Blakeman, the Republican challenger in the gubernatorial race, also chimed on Mamdani's statement.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The loud-mouthed cameos from ex-soccer players Zlatan Ibrahimović and Eric Cantona in Nike’s World Cup hero film Rip the Script were indicative of this, chiming with an older, more arrogant vision of Nike seen in the ’90s and the aughts.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Knell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knell. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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