ASHES Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

ashes 1 of 2

plural noun

as in rubble

the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed a new and more splendid city was built on the ashes of the old

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ashes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of ash

as in incinerates

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ashes

Verb

With the transformer clicked on, one associate of Blaine and Anneliese's immediately incinerates.

— Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
In 2025, French firm Veolia flexed its global leadership in PFAS treatment by opening a massive plant in Delaware that filters PFAS from water and incinerates it to break the bond between fluorine and carbon, one of the strongest in chemistry.

— Don Steinberg, Time, 30 Apr. 2026

Definition of incinerates

Verb

Compressed gas ejects the missile from its vertical launch cell before its main engine ignites above the ship.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 30 July 2026
Next door in Idaho, the National Interagency Fire Center recently went to its highest preparedness level, meaning if another major fire ignites out here there won't be enough federal resources available to respond.

— Kirk Siegler, NPR, 29 July 2026

Definition of ignites

Verb

While Martin Scorsese called it one of the scariest movies of all time, The Uninvited kindles a wonderful romance between Rick and Stella.

— Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
The star of Big Little Lies confessed her new film, Caught Stealing, kindles a powerful yearning for some aspects of the era.

— Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Definition of kindles

Verb

Part of the process included increasing the duration of the satellite’s thruster burns to get ready for the multi-hour firings needed while grappling the observatory.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Around one in 7,000 people carries a broken copy of this gene that almost acts like a GLP-1 drug—the body burns fuel more efficiently, and the risk of disease lowers.

— Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of burns

Verb

Kyiv often fires hundreds of drones into Russia in retaliation for Russia launching hundreds of its own drones and dozens of missiles at Ukrainian towns and cities.

— CBS News, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
Zelenskyy is keen to move quickly on a coproduction agreement as Russia relentlessly fires ballistic missiles that are hard to stop and cause civilian casualties as well as inflicting huge damage on civilian areas.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 July 2026

Definition of fires

Verb

Asthma is a chronic condition that inflames the airways and can make breathing difficult.

— Sanja Jelic, Verywell Health, 29 Apr. 2026
The episode inflames the diplomatic spat between the two countries that began over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan.

— J.D. Capelouto, semafor.com, 25 Mar. 2026

Definition of inflames

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.

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ashen

ashes

ashing

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“Ashes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ashes. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ashes

plural noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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