1
as in to choke
to cause to cease burning the fire in the skillet was quickly extinguished by slamming the lid on

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of a fatal blunder that extinguished all hope that the team would actually win the play-offs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in to shush
to stop the noise or speech of her final, telling point extinguished her opponents on the city council

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 extinguish The fires, which burned about 48,000 hectares in total, had been extinguished by Monday, the Korea Forest Service said in a statement. Yoonjung Seo, CNN Money, 31 Mar. 2025 Crews extinguished the fire around 10:10 a.m. and said the cause is still under investigation. Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2025 Colorado firefighters have scrambled to extinguish multiple blazes near major cities this month, including wildfires that burned thousands of acres near Colorado Springs last week and multiple fires this week at Aurora’s Jewell Wetlands Park. Max Levy, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025 The blaze was extinguished by 7:20 p.m. local time and no injuries were reported, officials confirmed to the outlets. Escher Walcott, People.com, 23 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for extinguish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinguish
Verb
  • Some of the aspiring stars who blew away the judges in the auditions round choked and failed to give their best showings, which led to the end of the road for standouts like Landynn Kennedy, Sam Sparks and Mikaela Bautista.
    KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025
  • The move comes on the heels of the police report Stern filed claiming that a March 11 encounter at the Beverly Hills Hotel started out consensually but ended with Tate choking her nearly unconscious.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Af Klint edited her own notebooks later in life, rewriting or destroying entire passages and exorcising biographical details.
    Jay Cheshes, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The Palisades and Eaton fires burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed at least 12,000 buildings.
    Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • One day at the Scottish Open, a volunteer held up the quiet sign and shushed the crowd as Morikawa prepared to hit from the fairway.
    Brody Miller, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Fathers shushed babbling toddlers as their wives snuck out to change infants’ diapers.
    Carlos Nogueras Ramos, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The $100 million Ferrari-Hamilton deal is not only both parties' answer to quenching a championship thirst — Ferrari hasn't won one in nearly two decades — but also the sport's solution for continued relevance.
    Olivia Hicks, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The concentrate, which counts Zoë Kravitz as a fan, is infused with squalane, vitamin E, glycerin, and botanical oils to quench thirsty skin.
    Kiana Murden, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The station shares a name with Spurs’ former home, which overlapped this site and was demolished as the modern structure, which opened in April 2019, was built.
    Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Though the interior of the building was demolished, the Art Deco facade was and is still considered a historical landmark and remains intact.
    Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 6 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • But he wasn’t deterred by the crown’s agenda to silence all critics.
    Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 4 Apr. 2025
  • For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft.
    Jordan Novet,Hayden Field, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The ones who douse their chicken with pepper sauce or soak it in powerful brines have something to hide.
    Rick Bragg, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2025
  • The central bank last cut rates in December of 2024, but has kept them steady since then as policy makers seek to douse inflation.
    Alain Sherter, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Curtis left her job as a deputy in August 2023 and sued the county soon after, claiming in court documents that Anderson’s harassment ruined her reputation and career with the county.
    Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2025
  • The problem lies once kids become tech savvy and a simple Google search can ruin the fun.
    Melissa Willets, Parents, 4 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Extinguish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinguish. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on extinguish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!