to snuff out
24
7.7
- phrasal verb
- /snʌf aʊt/
- This is where we snuff out the Resistance once and for all.
- snuffed out life
- snuff out any chance
- snuff out hope
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Watch on YouTubeWhat we're talking about, We're talking about snuffing out life.
- What we're talking about, We're talking about snuffing out life.
- As if the city itself had been snuffed out.
- There was an active effort to kill them, to shut them down by the Republican Congress that helped snuff out the, the survivors.
- They're not sure and, and these are about to be snuffed out.
Examples
-
First, you are commanded to "rescue" innocent human life from being unjustly snuffed out.
Blog text (25) -
Remember, more than 50 million innocent human lives have been snuffed out legally since 1973.
Blog text (13) -
Am I never to understand what gives a Christian man the authority to snuff out a life that came from God?
Blog text (24) -
Instead, his life was snuffed out forever with one bullet from the gun of Ivan Walter Bolt, this self-appointed instrument of justice.
Fiction book (1991) -
Facing high-powered plaintiffs' lawyers and damaging revelations, the once invincible tobacco industry may no longer be able to snuff out its opponents.
Academic text (1994) -
His violent actions snuffed out her dreams of becoming a doctor.
-
The oppressive regime sought to snuff out any signs of dissent among the citizens.
-
Tragically, the accident snuffed out his promising future in the sport.
Synonyms
769
3.4
Remove or kill something completely so it is gone
411
2.8
Stop something from working or continuing
347
4.2
Destroy something so nothing is left
181
2.0
Make a fire, light, or cigarette stop burning
151
4.6
To make something stop or finish
86
3.7
To be completely destroyed by fire
84
6.6
Remove something harmful completely, for example a disease or pest
82
4.8
Destroy almost all members of a group, like a type of animal or product
67
7.5
To destroy something completely so nothing remains
61
6.9
To destroy something completely, often on purpose
58
3.0
To end something so it no longer happens
58
7.5
To destroy completely, often killing many people
48
4.2
To stop something that is happening or being given
43
7.1
To burn things like documents or waste until they turn to ash
40
4.6
To make a feeling or idea go away
39
5.7
To put out a small flame by covering or pinching it
27
6.1
Make a thought or feeling go away so it stops bothering you
21
4.2
To stop something completely using strong action
17
5.1
To destroy or ruin something suddenly and completely
14
5.5
End something completely, for example a custom or a debt
12
9.3
To kill someone who is a threat
2
4.0
To press a small burning thing so it stops burning, for example a cigarette
2
9.9
To destroy something completely, including its root
1
9.9
To put out a fire or light
To destroy or carry something away completely, for example by water
Antonyms
How Final
- NSFW
58
7.5
∞
1.0
24
7.7
151
4.6
∞
1.0
117
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb's literal sense of extinguishing a flame ('snuff' + 'out') maps metaphorically onto ending or killing something, so a learner who knows both constituents would get a clear clue. However, the extension from putting out a light to killing or terminating an abstract thing is a metaphorical shift and 'snuff' is relatively low-frequency, so the exact sense (especially 'kill') may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase snuff out uses the same image: using snuff or your fingers to make a flame go out, so it ends suddenly. That's why people use it to mean 'to end' something quickly, even to 'kill' a person or stop a plan.