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

The job is largely a ceremonial post, but if the sitting governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, then the lieutenant governor would be elevated to take over.

— Jon Regardie, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
When Latif’s wife dies, he’s immediately forced to tamp down on the instincts that have provided for his family and wade unsteady into a world of bottles, transport, and dinner time.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of dies

Verb

In July, Reeves shared a brief clip of test footage of the upcoming film, which included the first proper look at Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in a new Batsuit as what appears to be snow falls around him.

— Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Margins shrink, investment capacity falls and businesses have fewer resources to innovate or improve the underlying infrastructure.

— Sanjay Ghare, Forbes.com, 6 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 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of flatlines

verb

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