1
as in to end
to bring (an event) to a natural or appropriate stopping point
we need to terminate the discussion for this evening, but we'll resume tomorrow morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
to come to an end
this class will terminate with the arrival of Memorial Day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to assassinate
to put to death deliberately
the operative's covert mission was to terminate the leader of the opposition
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to remove
to let go from office, service, or employment
he was terminated for constantly coming in to work late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in terminable
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 terminate
Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 11 Feb. 2026
By 2023, Christopher Sharon — who worked at Biote at the time but has since been terminated — raised his concerns internally, according to the lawsuit.
—Emily Brindley, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2021
ChristianaCare, the state’s largest health care system and largest private employer, has stated that all employees must receive the first dose of the vaccine by Sept. 21, or the health system with terminate workers who don’t unless given an exemption.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2021
See All Example Sentences for terminate
Verb
Wexner has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to OSU and served on the school’s board of trustees during a period of time in which Strauss was under internal investigation and when his full-time employment positions with the school were terminated.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 11 Feb. 2026
By 2023, Christopher Sharon — who worked at Biote at the time but has since been terminated — raised his concerns internally, according to the lawsuit.
—Emily Brindley, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
That control gave Puglisi the sole authority to set up new credit card accounts, change spending limits, manage card access and terminate accounts.
—Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2021
ChristianaCare, the state’s largest health care system and largest private employer, has stated that all employees must receive the first dose of the vaccine by Sept. 21, or the health system with terminate workers who don’t unless given an exemption.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2021
See All Example Sentences for terminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terminate
Verb
-
Now a rather similar squad is tasked with ending the title drought.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Connor also ended things with Emma after telling her about his strong connection with Bri.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
From open models to real-world applications, China has shown that constraints have not stopped it from gaining ground.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
From there, James made second-team All-NBA the next season and didn’t stop landing on one of the three teams until this season.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
What makes the current moment so striking is that the drift now appears to be reversing, cautiously and without the overexuberance that defined the post-WTO era.—
Dewardric L. McNeal,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Yet the defining challenges of our era do not respect borders.—
Alan H.H. Fleischmann,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September while speaking at a Utah university, established Turning Point USA in 2012 to encourage young people to engage in free speech and advocate for conservative policies.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Harry Jacobs, who was recently named head of the office's criminal division, was also involved in the prosecution of Vance Boelter, the man accused of assassinating former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Petrecca was thrust into the commentary role, replacing Auro Bulbarelli, who removed himself after spoiling the surprise arrival of Mattarella aboard one of the city’s trams.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
According to him, real-world deployment is a key step to removing the practical and technological bottlenecks that humanoids face today.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The contract is terminable at will on 15 days’ prior notice.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Indefinite employment terminable only for cause had existed as early as the founding of Harvard College in 1650.—
Time,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Some current central bankers — such as Fed governors Christopher Waller and Lisa Cook, in addition to Powell himself — have concluded AI has the potential to significantly boost productivity.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Of those, 15 have been concluded and 10 are at or near conclusion.—
STEPHEN GROVES,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
University of Arkansas men's basketball Coach John Calipari has ceased box-out drills.—
Matt Byrne,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Based on the timeline laid out by the district attorney’s office, all attempts to find Proctor ceased after Gascón was defeated by current Los Angeles County Dist.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Terminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terminate. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
