shutting up

verb

present participle of shut up
1
as in drying up
to stop talking you have no right to tell the rest of us to shut up

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shushing
to stop the noise or speech of nothing I said would shut them up

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 shutting up The audience is there in the flesh, shutting up and paying attention to your talent. — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 The core Mom skills — listening, caring, advising; maybe a little nagging, maybe shutting up — never go away. — Andre Mouchard, Daily News, 9 May 2026 And this team is taking a particular delight in shutting up and shutting down their rivals. — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026 Sky News is shutting up shop on its dedicated business show after more than a decade. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shutting up
  1. drying up
  2. shushing
  3. clamming up
  4. silencing
  5. hushing
  6. muting
  7. piping down
  8. settling
Verb
  • Four and a half years later, American aid is drying up, Ukraine has replaced Bayraktar drones with more effective weapons of its own, and the country’s weapon designers have moved well beyond their low-tech garages.
    — Thomas Nagorski, Time, 27 July 2026
  • Layoffs at the big platforms, hiring freezes, and a steady drumbeat of stories about software careers drying up.
    — Felysha Walker, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026
Definition of drying up
Verb
  • Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
  • Wine country with kids in tow doesn’t have to mean a stressful afternoon of shushing and screen time.
    — Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Definition of shushing
Verb
  • Less sweat-trapping than many synthetic jackets, the Oreus kept me from clamming up while ski-touring in five-degree temps and dissipated sweat quickly when worn after strenuous climbs.
    — Kelly Bastone, Outside, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of clamming up
Verb
  • Like in Dickinson’s poem, anger often feels like the only way to assert oneself in a society that seems hell-bent on silencing women and girls.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 27 July 2026
  • One attendee dressed as Brandon Scott Jones’ Isaac Higgintoot suggested that, perhaps, the Revolutionary War vet had something to do with the unfortunate, silencing crack in the Liberty Bell.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 July 2026
Definition of silencing
Verb
  • If you’re used to traditional decluttering strategies that focus on sorting and purging, house hushing might feel strange.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026
  • There are a lot of ways to declutter out there—the pile method and the discernment method are two of them, and now, everyone’s hushing their house.
    — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025
Definition of hushing
Verb
  • During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • But the field has struggled to figure out a means of delivering RNA-muting molecules into organs and tissues beyond the liver, which has limited their reach.
    — Elaine Chen, STAT, 9 June 2026
Definition of muting
Verb
  • The Softstreme Classic-fit High-rise Joggers have piping down the front that creates a more elevated look, while deep pockets and a comfortable, flat waistband lend themselves to comfort and practicality.
    — Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 5 Feb. 2026
Definition of piping down
Verb
  • Oyster was checked by a specialist vet who deemed her as healthy and has since been settling into a sanctuary with specialist facilities for primates.
    — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • If big-city energy appeals, with days spent wandering between markets and museums before settling into a top table for dinner, then the Western Cape—home to Cape Town—might be the best choice.
    — Katie Silcox, Vogue, 21 July 2026
Definition of settling

Browse Nearby Words

shutting out
shutting up
shut up
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Cite this Entry

“Shutting up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shutting%20up. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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