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
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
Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomeranged
Verb
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The 20-year-old defenseman collapsed to the ice after the puck went in.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Shortly after their conversation, Forrest learned Phoenix had collapsed and was seizing on the sidewalk outside of the nightclub.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Lawrence has been open in past interviews about needing to take a two year break from Hollywood after making 16 movies in six years, a string of which flopped at the box office and only inflamed the public’s negative reception of her.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
27 Oct. 2025
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In one second-quarter stretch, Smart checked in, hit a jumper, flopped to draw an offensive foul on Curry, then hooked his arm around Curry’s shoulder and wrestled the Warriors star to the floor, earning him a flagrant 1 foul and prompting a celebration from Horford.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The overtures backfired, with Sheridan preferring a less corporate approach.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
4 Nov. 2025
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Not only does closer Díaz have an offseason opt-out, but also all of the team’s midseason bullpen additions — which backfired, anyway — are heading to free agency.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boomeranged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomeranged. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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