as in collapsed
to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect
the well-meaning gesture boomeranged, since he ended up being offended by it
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Recent Examples of boomeranged
Those lower judges eventually rejected his arguments, and Reed boomeranged back to the justices.
—
Ella Lee, The Hill, 25 Mar. 2026
The wild part is how quickly that creator theme boomeranged back at us in real time.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025
The most blatant of those on Sunday was Kelce converting a great opportunity into a play that boomeranged the other way.
—Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
Ella Lee, The Hill, 25 Mar. 2026
The wild part is how quickly that creator theme boomeranged back at us in real time.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025
The most blatant of those on Sunday was Kelce converting a great opportunity into a play that boomeranged the other way.
—Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomeranged
Verb
-
Bulgaria's previous conservative government collapsed in December after nationwide anti-corruption protests drew hundreds of thousands of mainly young people to the streets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The climax hit, and as every Phish fan knows, nearly collapsed the song before Anastasio brought the chicky-chicky guitar back in.—
Jeff Miller,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cuomo’s podcast and mayoral bid flopped.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The comedy flopped at the box office, but Drop Dead Gorgeous proved ahead of its time — the movie cast Amy Adams in her first film role — and has since been declared a cult classic.—
Debby Wolfinsohn,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the move backfired when the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s universities, voted 10-6 against him in June.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
In New York, efforts by billionaires to defeat a democratic socialist mayoral candidate backfired spectacularly.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boomeranged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomeranged. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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