1
as in writing
to compose and set down on paper the words of
scratched out a poem for his beloved wife on the home front
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in deleting
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it
scratched out the old phone number and wrote in the new one
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scratching (out)
Verb
-
Born to a long line of musicians and entertainers (their great-grandparents were vaudevillians), Gunnar and Matt started writing music at age 6, shooting to fame in their own right after launching hard rock duo Nelson in the early 1980s.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026 -
Billy Bob Thornton and Ariana Greenblatt are set to star in Somedays, a feature film that Brian Klugman is writing and directing.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
What Happens Next Despite deleting the videos on her TikTok, Grubbs continues to share updates on her Snapchat.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
-
In February 2025, umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
From a portable power bank to keep your phone charged to noise-canceling headphones that will drown out stressful sounds, these travel accessories will help nervous fliers and frequent travelers alike have easier journeys.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
-
But in Japan, there’s no legal recourse and canceling a location shoot with short notice is an accepted part of the culture.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Scratching (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scratching%20%28out%29. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share