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
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His 69-year-old wife was transferred to South Africa at the same time but collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died at a nearby hospital, the South African Department of Health said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
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His wife later collapsed and died at Johannesburg’s international airport while attempting to return home.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Under Cook, the company has become less surprising but massively financially successful; some of Apple’s newer products have flopped or underperformed, but far more have become and stayed excellent thanks to years of competent iteration.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Cuomo’s podcast and mayoral bid flopped.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The move appears to have backfired, spurring voters in California and, last week, Virginia to redraw their state’s political maps to more than offset Texas and boost Democrats in November.—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
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Left Arrow Right Arrow Another candid confession from Jerry O’Connell backfired fast as critics seized on the actor’s remarks about his teenage daughters’ partying and vaping habits.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boomeranged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomeranged. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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