1
as in to down
to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall
a champion boxer who was shockingly felled in the first round
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2
as in to mow
to bring down by cutting
the settlers began the daunting task of felling the mighty trees that blanketed the island
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3
as in to kill
to deprive of life
the quest for a cure for malaria, the disease that felled so many during the digging of the Panama Canal
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
planning for the distribution of resources in case of some fell event
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2
as in savage
violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition
a once-mighty nation conquered by a fell and barbarous enemy
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of fell
Jacqueline Kehoe, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2024
Tent poles, for instance, are made from trees that have been naturally felled by elephants, and the whole camp runs on solar power.
—Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 18 Dec. 2024
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024
In one fell swoop, Azerbaijan upended a thousand-year-old culture and civilization overnight.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fell 
Verb
Similar patterns follow after European contact: When settlers felled northern Wisconsin’s white pine forests, tribes like the Menominee turned to trees such as hemlock and butternut.
—Jacqueline Kehoe, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2024
Tent poles, for instance, are made from trees that have been naturally felled by elephants, and the whole camp runs on solar power.
—Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
At the same time, Netflix offers the NFL easy, uniform access to high-end TV consumers around the world in one fell swoop.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024
In one fell swoop, Azerbaijan upended a thousand-year-old culture and civilization overnight.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell
Verb
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Severe weather conditions may also cause power outages and downed trees.Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
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Denver jumped to an early two-touchdown lead and downed Kansas City 38-0 at Empower Field at Mile High.Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Ever since people started mowing their lawns, there has been a mountain of excuses for putting it off, like any other chore.Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
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Refrain from mowing on frozen grass It's also recommended to not mow your lawn in the winter if the grass is frozen.Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2024
Verb
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By comparison, Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that devastated New Orleans, killed more than 1,800 and cost about $200 billion, according to federal estimates.Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
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The Eaton Fire, which is burning near Pasadena, was responsible for 11 of the deaths, while the Palisades Fire killed five people, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 12 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This physiological feat enables them to withstand conditions lethal to other fish.Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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The state is looking to carry out death sentences for several inmates who are out of appeals but who had their executions delayed because prison officials could not obtain lethal injection drugs.Landon Mion, Fox News, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2022
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022
Verb
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The agency said traffic entering the congestion pricing zone — Manhattan south of 60th Street — and on nearby highways had dropped 7.5 percent compared with an estimate of an average workday in January before congestion pricing began last week.James Barron, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
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Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy that prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents.Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Some 12,000 structures — buildings and cars — have been destroyed so far, and with them many tons of property of all levels of sentimental meaning.Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Jan. 2025
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This year, however, will be a much more muted affair, as the Palisades and Eaton Fires have destroyed thousands of homes, killed 25 people and forced more than 150,000 residents to evacuate.Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In August, the main global body analyzing food crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's Famine Review Committee (FRC), warned that mass famine in Sudan fueled by the conflict could be on track to become the deadliest famine in over a decade.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
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The series takes place in the 20-year aftermath of a deadly outbreak of mutant fungus (Cordyceps) that turns humans into monstrous zombie-like creatures (the Infected, or Clickers).Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near fell
Cite this Entry
“Fell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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