to sound a knell

  • 1sound — Synonyms and related words: Christian, able to pay, accepted, adamantine, admissible, advantageous, advertise, all there, announce, annunciate, appear, appear like, appraise, appreciate, approved, arm, armlet, articulate, aspect, assay, assess,… …

    Moby Thesaurus

  • 2knell — Synonyms and related words: annihilation, bane, bell, bemoan, bewail, biological death, bong, cessation of life, change ringing, chime, chiming, chink, clang, clanging, clangor, clank, clanking, clinical death, clink, coronach, crossing the bar,… …

    Moby Thesaurus

  • 3Knell — Knell, n. [OE. knel, cnul, AS. cnyll, fr. cnyllan to sound a bell; cf. D. & G. knallen to clap, crack, G. & Sw. knall a clap, crack, loud sound, Dan. knalde to clap, crack. Cf. {Knoll}, n. & v.] The stroke of a bell tolled at a funeral or at the… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 4Knell — Knell, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Knelled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Knelling}.] [OE. knellen, knillen, As. cnyllan. See {Knell}, n.] To sound as a knell; especially, to toll at a death or funeral; hence, to sound as a warning or evil omen. [1913 Webster] Not… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 5sound the death knell for something — sound the death knell for (something) to cause something to end. Everyone likes e mail, but it hasn t sounded the death knell for snail mail quite yet. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of sound the death knell (= to ring a church bell… …

    New idioms dictionary

  • 6sound the death knell for — (something) to cause something to end. Everyone likes e mail, but it hasn t sounded the death knell for snail mail quite yet. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of sound the death knell (= to ring a church bell slowly to announce a person s… …

    New idioms dictionary

  • 7sound the death knell — sound/toll the death knell to cause an organization, system, or activity to fail or end. The new superstore will sound the death knell for hundreds of small independent shops. (often + for) The closure of the local car factory tolled the death… …

    New idioms dictionary

  • 8knell — [nel] vi. [ME knyllen & (with echoic vowel change) knellen < OE cnyllan, akin to MHG (er)knellen: prob. echoic] 1. to ring in a slow, solemn way; toll 2. to sound ominously or mournfully vt. to call or announce by or as by a knell n. 1. the… …

    English World dictionary

  • 9knell — [nel] n [: Old English; Origin: cnyll] literary the sound of a bell being rung slowly because someone has died →↑death knell …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 10knell — literary ► NOUN ▪ the sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral. ► VERB ▪ (of a bell) ring solemnly. ORIGIN Old English …

    English terms dictionary