SNUFFING Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

snuffing

verb

present participle of snuff

as in sniffing

to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose the dog began barking as soon as she snuffed the scent of squirrel

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in murdering

to put to death deliberately the proprietor of the boarding house had apparently snuffed almost 50 old men before she was caught

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 snuffing Quiet season expected due to El Niño's impacts Forecasts for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season were mostly below-normal due to the storm-snuffing impacts of El Niño. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 22 July 2026 Holding it all together is the irrepressible Rodri, sweeping up loose balls and snuffing out counter-attacks with a positional awareness few central midfielders match. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026 Another method is to cut off oxygen to the fire by using a snuffing lid, then let the fire burn out naturally. — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 4 July 2026 The lead secured, Switzerland shifted to a five-man midfield out of possession, snuffing out the space and challenging the Algerians to play through it, but Petkovic’s charges struggled to break their opponents down. — Reuters, NBC news, 3 July 2026 The lefty has premium stuff and showed it again Thursday, snuffing out Seattle’s best chance to win the game. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026 Singleton perhaps should have taken the credit for snuffing out one of the league’s best and doing so on National Tight Ends Day, no less. — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025 From accidental black holes to worries that chemical experiments might suddenly freeze all Earth’s oceans, this is the story of concerns scientists are on the brink of discovering exotic, deadly new forms of matter or life that might quickly spread, snuffing us out. — Thomas Moynihan, Big Think, 15 Sep. 2025 Sneaking up and snuffing an enemy requires engaging in CQC (close quarters combat), which lets players grab a bad guy to choke, interrogate, or outright body slam. — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for snuffing

Verb

If the Jazz are sniffing around the Play-In or more, Peterson will get a lot of attention.

— The Athletic NBA Staff, New York Times, 27 July 2026
The plot involves Brian trying to get out of an emotional and psychological rut by volunteering to be a drug-sniffing dog for the local police force.

— Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026

Definition of sniffing

Verb

Their son pleaded guilty in October 2022 to murdering four students and injuring several others in the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 30 July 2026
On that Sabbath morning, a gunman shot his way into the synagogue, shouting antisemitic invective and murdering 11 worshipers from the three congregations sharing the building — Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life.

— Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Definition of murdering

Verb

Then, a few weeks later, Israel blew up the ongoing talks by assassinating both Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas representative leading peace talks in Qatar, and Mohammed Deif, a top decision-maker inside Gaza.

— David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
Attorneys at a key hearing for the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk sparred over whether a police interview should be made public, with Kirk’s family attorney saying that sealing it will only sow distrust in the justice system.

— Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 9 July 2026

Definition of assassinating

Verb

Health effects from inhaling wildfire smoke But the effects are sweeping, said Hayden, who has developed real-time mapping of mortality estimates from wildfire smoke.

— Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 18 July 2026
In many cases, people contract the disease by inhaling tiny droplets of contaminated water.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026

Definition of inhaling

Verb

Foster, 58, was ordered held without bail on Thursday for slaying 39-year-old Julia Anderson during a property dispute, cops said.

— Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026
An Oregon man was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for a November 1981 Griffith cold case slaying.

— Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2026

Definition of slaying

Verb

Evaluation frameworks, orchestration, agent definitions and business rules should evolve independently from the intelligence executing them.

— Sanjay Srivastava, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
But the nationwide total last year nearly doubled compared to the year prior, with 11 states executing 47 inmates – 19 of whom were in Florida, DPIC data shows.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 26 July 2026

Definition of executing

Verb

Willett faced some blowback after touting an endorsement from Eric DeValkenaere, the first Kansas City police officer ever convicted for killing a Black man.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
An armed Hudson barricaded himself and his mother inside her apartment after deputies responded to the second call for help before shooting Hayes four times, killing her.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 25 July 2026