fired

verb

Definition of firednext
past tense of fire
1
as in launched
to cause (a projectile) to be driven forward with force police officers firing rubber bullets

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in blasted
to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force soldiers fired at the enemy in panic-stricken disorder

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in stimulated
to give life, vigor, or spirit to a school outing to the natural history museum fired his imagination, and he grew up to become an eminent paleontologist

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in sacked
to let go from office, service, or employment fired the secretary for incompetence

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in threw
to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm fired a pass to the running back

Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in burned
to set (something) on fire lit some kindling before attempting to fire the logs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 fired Lynn replaced Alex Grinch, who was fired before finishing his second season leading a defense that was porous and poor, ranking as the 94th and 121st most generous defense in the nation in 2022 and ’23, respectively. — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026 During Parcells’ reign over the Dolphins, players who made a costly error on game day often showed up for work the next day to find out they were fired. — Omar Kelly august 30, Miami Herald, 30 Aug. 2026 Aargau Cantonal Police said one person was killed and five others were wounded after shots were fired at the event in the town of Aarau, a scenic area known for its lush valleys, medieval castles and thermal springs. — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 The witness said Cavazos was about 10 feet away and was not holding a weapon when Gutierrez fired three or four times, striking him in the back. — Madison Lambert, NBC news, 30 Aug. 2026 Nebraska lost to Northwestern and Frost was fired two games later. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Aug. 2026 However, he was fired by the company in 2011 after video footage surfaced showing the designer, who was inebriated, making antisemitic remarks in a Paris café. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2026 Viktor Hovland fired a 5-under 65 on Saturday and leads the field with a 15-under score of 195. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026 After Massey’s death, Grayson got fired, the Sangamon County sheriff at the time of the shooting resigned, and attorneys Crump and Romanucci helped Massey’s family secure a $10 million settlement from Sangamon County. — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fired
  1. launched
  2. blasted
  3. stimulated
  4. sacked
  5. threw
  6. burned
  7. hurled
  8. shot
Verb
  • Axios has been looking to launch in the Middle East, and last year, Semafor launched Semafor Gulf.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the tenants launched a rent strike at the beginning of the month while Levovitz still owned the building.
    — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of launched
Verb
  • Evelyn Ijeh’s backheel flick found a charging Sanchez, who blasted it into the far corner.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The governor’s administration blasted the airwaves with ads against the amendment.
    — Justin Garcia, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of blasted
Verb
  • Throughout Milo's healing, Haarburger sought ways to keep him entertained and mentally stimulated.
    — Kelsey Legg, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • So the majority of product [is] stimulated by patient interaction, and the hero product has to be the Polish.
    — Rachel Burchfield, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of stimulated
Verb
  • Come the end of the season, Frank had been sacked and Tottenham only just stayed up.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Jayhawks trailed by six and got the ball at their 11 with 17 seconds left, but Missouri sealed the 36-28 victory with a safety when Lorenzo Williams sacked Reesing in the end zone.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of sacked
Verb
  • Senior quarterback Brady Cloherty threw a whopping seven TD passes after the Caravan (1-1) faced a 30-point hole in the second quarter.
    — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The seventh-round rookie threw an ugly interception in the first quarter, while backpedaling and off his back foot.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of threw
Verb
  • Byblow says earth tones will be major this season — think rusty red, forest green, burnt orange, and chocolate brown.
    — Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 30 Aug. 2026
  • But full blocks of houses along roads leading into the forest burned to the ground.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of burned
Verb
  • Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at the revelers — who, in turn, hurled them at one another.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • When a massive riot erupted at Soledad on Cinco de Mayo in 1968, Trejo hurled a rock that smashed a prison guard in the head.
    — Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of hurled
Verb
  • In the first Fox Squirrel Cup at Rio Pinar, Christian Koehn shot 33 for LHP in the win over Winter Park, which was led by Lawson Hovey’s 32.
    — Steve Gorches, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The production was shot across multiple locations, including European palaces and other elaborate sets, according to Disney+.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of shot

Browse Nearby Words

firebugs
fired
fired (at)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fired. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All