1
as in negotiated
to talk over or dispute the terms of a purchase
they bargained with the car salesman for half an hour before settling on a price
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in agreed
to come to an arrangement as to a course of action
I really hadn't bargained on buying a whole case of Girl Scout cookies, just a couple of boxes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arranged
to bring about through discussion and compromise
bargained the price of the painting down to a figure that the artist could still live with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bargained
Both sides bargained throughout the weekend but couldn't make a deal.
—
Allen Devlin, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
Any deadline would have to be collectively bargained, however, and the idea has already drawn opposition from the MLBPA.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Players’ associations could argue such a policy interferes with athletes’ freedom to contract and must be collectively bargained as a condition of employment.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ chief partner officer, told employees in a letter this month that the company had bargained in good faith with the union, reaching more than 30 tentative agreements on full contract articles.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2025
Union leaders bargained with the administration for those who were laid off to receive three months of severance, rather than two weeks of pay per year of service; three months of COBRA insurance coverage; and rehiring priority for any positions becoming vacant over the next two years.
—News Desk, Artforum, 3 Sep. 2025
Nevertheless, each of those cases concerned players and collectively bargained arbitration processes.
—Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Subsequently, Pakistan also bargained down the new American tariffs on its goods from 29% to 19% — relatively meek next to India’s rate.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
In many major North American professional sports, a single entity such as the NBA, NFL or MLB collects revenue from media rights, merchandising and other licensing and pays out a share to its athletes under the terms of an agreement that has been collectively bargained with their union.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 Aug. 2025
Allen Devlin, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
Any deadline would have to be collectively bargained, however, and the idea has already drawn opposition from the MLBPA.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Players’ associations could argue such a policy interferes with athletes’ freedom to contract and must be collectively bargained as a condition of employment.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ chief partner officer, told employees in a letter this month that the company had bargained in good faith with the union, reaching more than 30 tentative agreements on full contract articles.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2025
Union leaders bargained with the administration for those who were laid off to receive three months of severance, rather than two weeks of pay per year of service; three months of COBRA insurance coverage; and rehiring priority for any positions becoming vacant over the next two years.
—News Desk, Artforum, 3 Sep. 2025
Nevertheless, each of those cases concerned players and collectively bargained arbitration processes.
—Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Subsequently, Pakistan also bargained down the new American tariffs on its goods from 29% to 19% — relatively meek next to India’s rate.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
In many major North American professional sports, a single entity such as the NBA, NFL or MLB collects revenue from media rights, merchandising and other licensing and pays out a share to its athletes under the terms of an agreement that has been collectively bargained with their union.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bargained
Verb
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Being threatened with a 500 percent tariff, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka had successfully negotiated down to 20 percent.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
14 Jan. 2026
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In the wake of Maduro’s capture — with repression continuing, prisoners still behind bars and Venezuela’s future being negotiated around oil and power — Ramírez sees the film as both testimony and warning.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The dispute was resolved after Singh agreed to provide additional context, explaining that the files were collaborative documents shared among participants through the messaging app Signal.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2026
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The state of Idaho asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, and this past summer the court agreed to review it.—
Becca Savransky,
Idaho Statesman,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The goal is to move all the disks to the last pole with them arranged in the same order—but each disk may only be placed on a larger disk, never on a smaller one.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
10 Jan. 2026
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The following month, Acebedo-Garcia arranged the details for the first shipment — 293 kilos.—
Jesse Hyde,
Rolling Stone,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Israeli attacks weakened Iran’s regional armed proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollahwhile US strikes dealt significant damage to the country’s nuclear program, which the government spent billions to develop.—
Mitchell McCluskey,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
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Dugger served as a backup through the beginning portion of the season before being dealt to the Steelers at the NFL trade deadline.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Both concluded the same year, after which McHale played Tad O'Malley on The X-Files reboot.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
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The first project – converting the former Sedgefield Elementary into a Montessori program for pre-K through 6th grade – concluded in August.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In labyrinthine souqs by cascading plateaus of trash, customers haggled over Europe’s fashion waste.—
Nabil Salih,
Time,
4 Dec. 2025
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Dark powers that had to be begged and haggled with.—
Joan Silber,
New Yorker,
30 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bargained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bargained. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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