ambushed

verb

past tense of ambush
as in attacked
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 ambushed In the suit, Ibrahim alleges that he was lured to the gym under the pretense of a challenge and was ambushed by Watson, a co-owner of the gym and two other men. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026 The facility hosts a memorial for past police horses and former Officer Tara O’Sullivan, who was ambushed and killed when responding to a domestic violence incident in 2019. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026 Brock Lesnar ambushed Oba Femi, then accepted his Hell in a Cell challenge for SummerSlam. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 People who waited years before treating their loss can feel ambushed by ordinary sound—the refrigerator, traffic, the dishwasher. — Angela Haupt, Time, 29 June 2026 On the fourth day, his team was ambushed and outnumbered by Vietnamese fighters. — Arkansas Online, 20 June 2026 Ex-Rep Elaine Luria ambushed on camera over 2000% net worth spike during tenure. — FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026 Al Drago / Getty Images Dockery was serving as a platoon leader in the Kapisa Province of Afghanistan in October 2012 when his platoon was ambushed by dozens of Taliban fighters, the White House said. — Faris Tanyos, CBS News, 18 June 2026 On the fourth day, his team was ambushed and outnumbered by Vietnamese fighters. — ABC News, 18 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambushed
  1. attacked
  2. assaulted
  3. waylaid
  4. surprised
  5. captured
Verb
  • So the next time your brand wants to bare its teeth, picture Mickey in his tuxedo being attacked by an oversized beaver.
    — Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
  • The suspect is believed to be a woman, but investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the teen was attacked by a man wearing women’s clothes, according to a law enforcement source.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • Knowing that there are babies who are being assaulted right now in detention camps who don’t have a voice.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • Federal authorities say a cruise ship hairstylist allegedly assaulted guests while posing as a massage provider during an Alaska sailing.
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 8 July 2026
Definition of assaulted
Verb
  • After making off with a substantial stack of cash from her job to fund a new life with boyfriend Sam Loomis (John Gavin), she gets waylaid by a rainstorm and stops to spend the night at the Bates Motel, run by awkward mama’s boy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
  • Then, minutes into the speech, Santos posted on X that he had been waylaid at the airport.
    — Jake Offenhartz, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Definition of waylaid
Verb
  • But Fortune, who serves on the Hartford school board, surprised some insiders by collecting the signatures in a theme that has endured for years for her and others as women of color.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2026
  • Bill MacLauchlin surprised the bicentennial beard contest judges with a blue and white beard topped by a red moustache.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 July 2026
Definition of surprised
Verb
  • The singer quickly zipped up his black trousers, but not before a fan captured a video of the wardrobe malfunction.
    — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 8 July 2026
  • The collective spectacle captured a tension that Swift has long been charting through her music.
    — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of captured

Browse Nearby Words

ambush
ambushed
ambusher
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Cite this Entry

“Ambushed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambushed. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on ambushed

Nglish: Translation of ambushed for Spanish Speakers

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