as in to erase
to destroy all traces of
time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here
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Recent Examples of expunge
Understanding Clean Slate Laws and Automatic Criminal Record Relief
Clean slate laws seal or expunge certain criminal records after a specified period of time without reoffending.
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Alonzo Martinez, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
While he was released in 2020, Cohen is unlikely to see his record expunged by the returning president in his second, nonconsecutive term because the former attorney testified against Trump in the former and incoming president’s New York state hush money trial.
—John Scott Lewinski, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 29 Nov. 2024
But Hasina’s ouster both expunged his legal travails and presented a late career change as his tormentor’s successor.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024
Retroactively, records for marijuana possession charges will be expunged by January 1, 2025.
—Alonzo Martinez, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for expunge 
Alonzo Martinez, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
While he was released in 2020, Cohen is unlikely to see his record expunged by the returning president in his second, nonconsecutive term because the former attorney testified against Trump in the former and incoming president’s New York state hush money trial.
—John Scott Lewinski, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 29 Nov. 2024
But Hasina’s ouster both expunged his legal travails and presented a late career change as his tormentor’s successor.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024
Retroactively, records for marijuana possession charges will be expunged by January 1, 2025.
—Alonzo Martinez, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for expunge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expunge
Verb
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Nearby Altadena, a historically largely Black neighborhood, has essentially been erased from the map.Meagan Jordan, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
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The odds are that the response will sit in an internal digital memory buffer for a while and not be immediately erased or discarded.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Israel then vowed to eradicate Hamas and have since devastated the Palestinian territory.John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
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Killing female deer weakens a herd’s ability to grow, and officials thought that thinning out deer herds was the key to eradicating the disease and preserving wild herd health.Sophie Hartley, Scientific American, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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That loophole remained open following the most recent U.S. election, which saw California voters shooting down Proposition 6, which would have abolished prison labor.Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2025
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So legislation abolishing the department (already written by GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota) would have to pass through budget reconciliation, which lets certain legislation pass with a mere majority in the Senate.Dylan Matthews, Vox, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Some 12,000 structures — buildings and cars — have been destroyed so far, and with them many tons of property of all levels of sentimental meaning.Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Jan. 2025
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This year, however, will be a much more muted affair, as the Palisades and Eaton Fires have destroyed thousands of homes, killed 25 people and forced more than 150,000 residents to evacuate.Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near expunge
Cite this Entry
“Expunge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expunge. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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