flaming out

verb

present participle of flame out
as in collapsing
to be unsuccessful even at the reception, some were predicting that the marriage would flame out before the fancy china ever got used

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 flaming out The team ended up flaming out in the first round of the Copa América, and panic ensued. — Leander Schaerlaeckens, New Yorker, 22 May 2026 Despite missing the playoffs with a 42-40 record and flaming out of the Play-In Tournament against the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers did not have their own first-round pick, part of the cost for the 2019 swap of 2018 lottery pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2019 MVP finalist Paul George. — Law Murray, New York Times, 11 May 2026 With a growing number of rookie quarterbacks struggling and flaming out in recent years, the Raiders, who have only had one quarterback start 10 or more games in consecutive seasons in the last two decades (Derek Carr), likely want to play Mendoza’s development safe. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026 Swinging a big trade can be the difference in a team winning a championship or flaming out early in the playoffs. — Mike Barner, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026 Jack Harper, back working in his hometown after flaming out elsewhere, living as the responsible adult with an adorable little niece and her depressed, alcoholic mother, Zoe (Marin Ireland). — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026 After the first two films, the series switched hands to seasoned parody veterans David Zucker and Pat Proft before flaming out with the fifth entry in 2013. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025 The left side of their line is a huge question mark between tackle and guard, where Kingsley Suamataia might settle after flaming out at tackle. — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flaming out
  1. collapsing
  2. failing
  3. striking out
  4. flopping
  5. folding
  6. missing
  7. washing out
  8. struggling
Verb
  • The family’s attorney says Mayich struggled through a military-style practice with little rest or water, showing clear distress before collapsing.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Rodríguez Verona said survivors were disoriented and dehydrated, with many collapsing or vomiting upon reaching land.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of collapsing
Verb
  • Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez provided the margin to prevent a tie, which under House rules is the same as a measure failing outright.
    — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Set against the competitive world of Fleet Street, Murdoch purchases the failing Sun and recruits Lamb, a working-class editor with a very different idea of what a newspaper can be.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of failing
Verb
  • Steele tossed 1 2/3 innings Wednesday night with Triple-A Iowa, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits, striking out two and walking none.
    — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Cameron allowed four runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking one over five innings.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of striking out
Verb
  • Nurses are fainting on the wards, children are flopping onto their desks at school.
    — Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The video shows the peacock, referred to by some in the neighborhood as Sugar, seemingly flopping around then collapsing.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of flopping
Verb
  • Put a fun spin on ranch by folding some into your next batch of dressing.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2026
  • With its latest folding EDC tool, Titaner has taken that familiar silhouette and reinterpreted it through precision machining and structural geometry.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of folding
Verb
  • Wilson was back on the practice field Sunday, despite missing much of training camp with an injury, and will likely open the season as Seattle’s third-string running back.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The death toll in last week’s devastating flooding in Nepal has risen to 903 people, officials said Monday, as the number of those listed as missing nearly doubled to 4,247.
    — Rudy Chinchilla, NBC news, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of missing
Verb
  • Physicists used Wilson’s calculations to justify the previously murky mechanics of quantum field theory, which treats each particle as a wave while washing out the less significant effects of the smallest vibrations.
    — Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Rain postponed the start of play, washing out the entire morning session and much of the second.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of washing out
Verb
  • Its interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qa’eda militant who led the rebel offensive that overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has been struggling to rebuild a nation devastated by almost 14 years of civil war.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Teachers and students are struggling to parse the difference between deploying AI effectively and exploiting the technology to cheat.
    — Sian Leah Beilock, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggling

Browse Nearby Words

flamingly
flaming out
flammable
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flaming out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flaming%20out. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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