as in to die
to stop living
the patient was fading fast, and doctors expected him to flatline before the night was over
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flatline
At the same time, soda popularity flatlined and wellness culture ascended.
—
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
Data from the Census Bureau indicates that median wages for full-time male workers have essentially flatlined since 1973.
—Mark Robert Rank, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2026
Neuromodulation is necessary for keeping the brain’s activity level in a functional range, preventing it from either flatlining or erupting in seizures.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
Employee engagement has been in decline since 2020 and, over the past two years, has flatlined at 31% of US employees being actively engaged at work.
—Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flatline
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
Data from the Census Bureau indicates that median wages for full-time male workers have essentially flatlined since 1973.
—Mark Robert Rank, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2026
Neuromodulation is necessary for keeping the brain’s activity level in a functional range, preventing it from either flatlining or erupting in seizures.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
Employee engagement has been in decline since 2020 and, over the past two years, has flatlined at 31% of US employees being actively engaged at work.
—Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flatline
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatline
Verb
-
Investigators would spend weeks building their case, combing through nearly 7,000 texts exchanged over the three months before Harold died.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Cormorants that tried to clean each other with their beaks died after ingesting the viscous muck.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That’s led to a generation of kids being treated as Big Tech guinea pigs and falling student achievement scores.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The follow-up Saturday just fell short of also being special.—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flatline.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatline. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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