BAITED Synonyms: 112 Similar and Opposite Words

baited

verb

past tense of bait

as in taunted

to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults I wished the candidates would stop baiting each other and instead address the real issues

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in tempted

to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage the investment scheme cunningly baits the greedy and the unscrupulous

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 baited There are baited Japanese beetle traps, but research at the University of Kentucky shows that the traps attract many more beetles than are actually caught. —

Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 30 May 2026 After Holmgren baited Hauser into a foul — deja vu from the final seconds of C’s-Thunder Round 1 — Baylor Scheierman replaced him and buried two quick triples, the second putting the Celtics up 74-73. —

Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2026 Claude, for example, wouldn’t be baited into partisan controversy. —

Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026 During Moore’s arrest, another officer baited him into making an incriminating statement, Judge Patton found at the preliminary hearing. —

Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026 The meme coin reeks of a scam called a rug pull, in which followers are baited into buying the coin to boost its value, before the founder sells all their assets at a higher price. —

Frank Landymore, Futurism, 28 Jan. 2026 In the throes of a second-half rally, the Bears baited a hook — three tight ends plus an extra offensive lineman — to lure a heavy personnel package from the Packers’ defense. —

Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026 They're known as problem crocodiles, though catching them is fairly easy, in cages baited with wild boar meat. —

Holly Williams, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026 Traps can be baited with peanut butter, marshmallows, pet food, or other tidbits from your pantry. —

Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 7 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for baited

Verb

During Sunday afternoon’s series-ending Game 4 — which the Knicks won, 144-114 — the New York fans booed Joel Embiid loudly and taunted him with posters showing Mitchell Robinson dunking on him two days earlier.

— Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 11 May 2026
The window next to my desk overlooks the gym’s large communal exercise room, and throughout the day, I am taunted by the sight of gyrating bodies panting through a Zumba class or a kettlebell set.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 8 May 2026