FLATLINES Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

flatlines

verb

present tense third-person singular of flatline

as in dies

to stop living the patient was fading fast, and doctors expected him to flatline before the night was over

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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 flatlines Leaders become the bottleneck, the team defaults to the law of least effort, and performance flatlines. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026 However, in practice, the drama of this World War II spy saga seldom lives up to the filmmaker’s lofty aesthetic goals, resulting in a tale of torture and human fragility that flatlines long before its central martyr. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 May 2026 Take women out of the equation, and middle-class income essentially flatlines for four decades. — Katica Roy, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026 Every time the plot hits the reset button, the tension flatlines. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatlines

Verb

One in five people who contract Vibrio Vulnificus — a species of the bacteria that causes necrotizing fasciitis, a condition in which the flesh around a wound dies — typically die, according to the Center for Disease Control.

— Eva Flowe October 21, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
When a whale dies and sinks to the ocean floor, its carcass provides sustenance for deep-sea organisms for centuries, triggering a shockwave of life.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of dies

Verb

When carb intake falls sharply, the liver turns fat into ketones, an alternative fuel for the brain and other tissues that may cause less metabolic stress.

— Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Bangladesh’s experience shows the challenge of containing an outbreak when vaccination coverage falls below 95%, a level the WHO says is needed to prevent outbreaks.

— Reuters, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of falls

Verb

In The Children, sister and brother Guinevere and Ennis grow up under the shadow of their mother, Edith Sharpe, whose Ninth City children’s book series transfixes the world until Edith perishes in a mysterious fire in Vermont.

— Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
Every soldier Harry would have saved on a transport during the war perishes too.

— Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025

Definition of perishes

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flatlined

flatlines

flatlining

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“Flatlines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatlines. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of flatlines

verb

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