oxidizing

verb

present participle of oxidize
as in rusting
to combine chemically with oxygen Iron will oxidize if it is exposed to air and moisture.

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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 oxidizing The material can power reactions such as oxidizing organic molecules, potentially degrading pollutants, sterilizing surfaces, or enabling photocatalytic chemistry to continue later in the dark. — New Atlas, 3 July 2026 But recent studies have shown that erosion can also emit CO2 by oxidizing organic carbon contained in eroding sediments. — Howard Lee, ArsTechnica, 26 June 2026 The acid prevents cut apples from oxidizing and turning brown, while keeping sliced avocadoes or guacamole bright green. — Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026 By capturing the oxygen, the coating prevents it from oxidizing the electrolyte and forming harmful byproducts. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Mar. 2026 Those flies themselves depend on sulfur-oxidizing microbes as their primary food source. — Humberto Basilio, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2025 What's more, the oxidizing process would simply start again, and the entire structure would turn green again in a few short years. — Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025 Today, the entire industrialized world is held up by the energy released by oxidizing organic carbon back to CO2. — Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oxidizing
  1. rusting
  2. decomposing
  3. reacting
  4. disintegrating
  5. crumbling
  6. corroding
Verb
  • Today, the city’s Ferris wheel and bumper cars sit rusting untouched, the surrounding apartment blocks standing hollowed out by looters and the natural decay of time passed while trees push through the pavement where playgrounds once stood.
    — Kieron Marchese, Architectural Digest, 27 July 2026
  • Dax Poprawski, whose relatives work in the business, was sorry to see that the track had been reduced to a skeleton of itself, with rusting, exposed steel beams and weeds growing around it.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026
Definition of rusting
Verb
  • Authorities said the remains included bones believed to belong to four newborns and the decomposing body of a fifth.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Ament revisited his archive of decomposing negatives with his brother, designer Barry Ament, a few years ago.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026
Definition of decomposing
Verb
  • The tools help the publishing group avoid printing problematic content upon manuscript receipt, rather than reacting postpublication.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026
  • Cecily Strong is reacting to her old SNL castmate Chloe Fineman exiting the series.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 July 2026
Definition of reacting
Verb
  • Others rot in the California sun, disintegrating into bony fragments.
    — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • The experiments have shown how a self-repair mechanism enables the spindle to stabilize itself under force and avoid disintegrating.
    — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2026
Definition of disintegrating
Verb
  • Rolling blackouts, water scarcity, crumbling hospitals, and shortages of food and medicine had become routine.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 30 July 2026
  • As well as Shusha, Azerbaijan had recaptured the entire lowlands, seven districts that had been crumbling undisturbed for three decades.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 July 2026
Definition of crumbling
Verb
  • At these temperatures, the molten salt remains chemically stable but begin corroding the metal used to build the reactor vessel, posing a major safety risk.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
  • The company is accused of knowing that its sprinkler system was corroding and that emergency repairs to some sprinkler heads had been completed just days before the chemical reaction.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 23 June 2026
Definition of corroding

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oxidizing
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Cite this Entry

“Oxidizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oxidizing. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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