MOTHBALL Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

mothball

verb

as in to dismantle

to stop using (something) while keeping it to be possibly used in the future Many navy ships were mothballed after the war.

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of mothball The company began construction twice on the development, but now has mothballed that project. —

George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026 Turkey conducted a single test firing near Sinop in 2020, then quietly mothballed the system. —

Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025 The bank mothballed plans for the plot of land and hired brokers to sell it in 2014, a process that drew interest from a handful of residential developers who considered the site a prime opportunity to build luxury apartments overlooking the river. —

Jack Sidders, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025 Thus began a contentious, years-long saga — involving the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, legislators, lawyers, geologic experts, industry officials and local citizens — that delayed, defunded and ultimately mothballed the project in 2010. —

Bob Woods, CNBC, 9 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mothball

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothball

dismantle

Verb

When one chopper broke down, another would be dismantled for parts to fix it.

— Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Before dismantling programs designed to prepare young people for the inevitable return to society, policymakers should ask whether doing so would actually make communities safer.

— Sean Garcia Leys, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026