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 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 Lozano successfully baited Portland’s Juan Mosquera into shoving him, prompting a red card to close the Timbers’ night of frustration. —

Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2025

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