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 On May 17, 1777, a group of British soldiers, loyalist militia and Native Americans ambushed Georgia Patriots near the mouth of Thomas Creek, near what is now the Jacksonville airport. — Lane Degregory, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 July 2026 The first convoy sent by the Malian army was ambushed last Sunday, FLA said. — ABC News, 10 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambushed
  1. attacked
  2. assaulted
  3. waylaid
  4. surprised
  5. captured
Verb
  • With the wind and the sea now working against them, Odysseus and his men were next led to the Laestrygonian giants, who brutally attacked them, leaving them with only one ship and its crew.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
  • Iran attacked a power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait, the Gulf nation said on Saturday.
    — Monica Haider, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • Andrews was one of nearly 40 CATS bus drivers who were physically assaulted from 2023 through 2025.
    — Caitlin McGlade, Charlotte Observer, 15 July 2026
  • Of the 71 detainees contacted over a five month period, 64 — about 90% of those interviewed — said they had either personally been assaulted by the staff or had seen others physically abused, according to the report.
    — Michael Biesecker, Los Angeles Times, 15 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 mother-daughter duo was captured sharing a giggly moment during the men’s finals.
    — Meg Walters, InStyle, 14 July 2026
  • Airline tracking website Flightradar24 captured the message, which was created during a flight on Saturday morning local time.
    — Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 14 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 18 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ambushed for Spanish Speakers

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