scratching (out)

verb

present participle of scratch (out)
1
as in writing
to compose and set down on paper the words of scratched out a poem for his beloved wife on the home front

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in deleting
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it scratched out the old phone number and wrote in the new one

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scratching (out)
  1. writing
  2. deleting
  3. canceling
Verb
  • Earlier this year, César Alvarez spent far too much of their play The Potluck having their onstage avatar wiggle around on the hook of writing The Potluck.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • GPTZero’s authenticity suite, including AI and hallucination detection, plagiarism checking, and writing replay, has been added to Superhuman’s platform.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of writing
Verb
  • During the trial, jurors heard about efforts to conceal the affair, including discussions about deleting communications and replacing phones.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Bryant advised Van Rootselaar about how to keep her plot a secret by deleting online messages and using virtual private networks, officials said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of deleting
Verb
  • Customers using Booking’s AI tools are booking somewhat faster, converting at somewhat higher rates, and canceling less often, Steenbergen said, while cautioning that the data remains early stage.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The White House was warned that canceling TPS for Salvadorans would disrupt construction projects in Washington.
    — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of canceling
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.

Browse Nearby Words

scratching
scratching (out)
scratch (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Scratching (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scratching%20%28out%29. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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