KNELL Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

knell 1 of 2

verb

Definition of knell

as in to ring

to make the clear sound heard when metal vibrates the church bells knelled to mark the death of the nation's beloved leader

Synonyms & Similar Words

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knell

2 of 2

noun

as in peal

Related Words

as in indicator

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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 knell

Noun

But the death knell for Casad’s crops was Oregon’s century-old law, which protects some water users at the expense of others. — Emily Cureton Cook, ProPublica, 26 June 2026 Even in the Upper South, a higher-than-usual temperature and drought combo can be a death knell for gardens. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 16 June 2026 The financial strife seemed like a death knell for one of the city’s largest redevelopment projects, an effort Stammel spent years helping to engineer. — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 11 June 2026 Shares of the software companies were up after Guggenheim upgraded both to buy, believing that artificial intelligence won't be a death knell for the companies and attractive valuations in the stocks. — Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for knell

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knell

Verb

When that happened, on July 4, 1778, locals rang the old bell, which had been delivered up the Mississippi from New Orleans, and for a long time locals stored the bell inside the church.

— Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Gunshots were heard ringing out during a fireworks display near the boardwalk in Coney Island, according to the New York Post.

— Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026

Definition of ring

Verb

Bells tolled through the misty Alpine mountain valley as hundreds of priests walked two by two to the altar under a tent to start the service and then again at the end.

— Jamey Keaten, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Shippers and producers have grown increasingly concerned about the prospect that Iran will seek to toll the strait in future, after the memorandum of understanding signed with the US said only that transit would be free for the duration of its 60-day term.

— Alex Longley, Fortune, 20 June 2026

Definition of toll

Noun

If, however, Madrid find themselves in end-to-end ding-dongs next season — the kind that Guardiola spent his career, and particularly his final season at City, trying to avoid — then Bernardo may not be the man for the occasion.

— Sam Lee, New York Times, 23 June 2026
In North Carolina, a juvenile was shot in the leg after a homeowner fired at a vehicle during a late-night ding-dong ditch-style prank, according to police.

— Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Jan. 2026

Definition of ding-dong

Noun

What that translates to for audiences is better intelligibility — words that land rather than wash — and a cleaner overall mix, because the engineer is no longer spending mental and technical energy fighting unwanted signal at the source.

— Dave Brooks, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
That said, the court's refusal to intervene at this point is at least a tentative signal that favors the law.

— Nina Totenberg, NPR, 6 July 2026

Definition of signal

Verb

Sunlight chimed off Rubber Hand’s hatchet blade.

— Will Mackin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
So far, in 2026, luxury experiences continue to outperform personal luxury goods for consumer sentiment by 150%, per Bain data, chiming with a broader departure from ownership to experiences.

— Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 25 June 2026

Definition of chime

Noun

Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.

— Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021

Definition of tintinnabulation

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kneesocks

knell

knelled

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“Knell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knell. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of knell

verb

noun

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