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
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for knell
Noun
Intriguingly, while many predicted that the COVID shutdown would sound the death knell for much of the music instrument and equipment industries, North American sales for 2021 rose 20 percent to set an all-time record of $8,906,561,000.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for knell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knell
Verb
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Both funny and deeply powerful, The Big Sick shows the reality of romance with a heartfelt love story that rings true.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Feb. 2026
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More cheers rang out across Riviera — Max Greyserman with a hole-in-one on the 14th, Tommy Fleetwood jarring one for eagle from the fairway on the 15th, and Kitayama stuffing his tee shot on the par-3 16th and then barely clearing the bunker to set up a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The solemn peal of a temple bell rang out 108 times — an auspicious number — as people flocked to the Baoan Temple in Taipei on Tuesday morning.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
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This last part seemed to be a joke, eliciting a peal of laughter from his wife.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For example, homicide rates declined in 2025 – which is an important indicator of security.—
Angélica Durán-Martínez,
The Conversation,
24 Feb. 2026
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Here’s a look at some of the economic indicators that appear strong, those that are seemingly stable, and the ones that are raising red flags.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the car carrying him departed the police station, a photographer captured another indelible image, of the former Prince slumped in the back seat, wide-eyed and slack-jawed—the boy for whom the chimes once pealed looking very much like a man for whom the bell now tolls.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
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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
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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Those signals are used to get as close as possible to victims, when probe poles are then used to locate them in the snow, Rice said.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
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Experts, scholars and market signals have sounded the alarm.—
Les Rubin,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Jury President Wim Wenders praised the film for its portrait of life under totalitarianism saying the story would chime with and serve as a wakeup call for people all over the world.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
21 Feb. 2026
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The strategy is to take Laporte’s original vision and extrude from that what is contemporary and chimes with today’s younger generations.—
Jennifer Weil,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
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 28 Feb. 2026.
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