as in rusting
to combine chemically with oxygen
Iron will oxidize if it is exposed to air and moisture.
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Recent Examples of oxidizing
In the hole, life drops away quickly as oxygen disappears, below the surface (Oxic Zone) and transition levels (Suboxic Zone); at 100-140 m (330-460 ft), the third layer called the Anoxic Zone I is almost completely dominated by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.
—
New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025
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
Looking ahead, the team plans to add protective coatings to enable the device to survive open-air use without oxidizing.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 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
New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025
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
Looking ahead, the team plans to add protective coatings to enable the device to survive open-air use without oxidizing.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 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
Verb
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Check out these recommendations on how to properly store a cast-iron lid and keep your cast iron from rusting.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
21 Jan. 2026
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But when that car started rusting, it was taken down, and a police cruiser donated by GM in 1995 went up in its place.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In desert regions, natural mummification is common due to the dry conditions where fungi and bacteria can’t thrive on a decomposing corpse.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
15 Jan. 2026
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In town, the painter also notes the reek of decomposing bodies, of garbage, of blood streaming out of the butcher shop.—
Amir Ahmadi Arian,
The Dial,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Instead of reacting with silent anger or self-promotion, expand on the discussion.—
Chris Lipp,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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All the stocks are reacting to worries that AI is poised to disrupt their business models.—
Christina Cheddar Berk,Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As in a seventeenth-century poem by John Donne, George Herbert, or Andrew Marvell, the fraught human body is a microcosm, a mirror to the larger disintegrating world spirit.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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When Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s army was disintegrating in the face of a rapid advance by Syrian opposition forces under the command of Ahmad al-Sharaa, all the Russians were willing to do was launch a few symbolic airstrikes and help organize Assad’s getaway to a life in exile.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And behind every man with a good name and a crumbling pile, there’s a wife shrewdly attending to the seating plan.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
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Even with oil shipments from Venezuela, widespread blackouts have persisted across Cuba given fuel shortages and a crumbling electric grid.—
Dánica Coto,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But researchers have previously expressed concern over damage to sea beds caused by turbine construction, and leaching of toxic materials from corroding metals.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
19 Dec. 2025
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The failure of the West’s big bet on corroding the great Eurasian authoritarians has, for the time being, turned the West against itself.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oxidizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oxidizing. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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