as in collapses
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 boomerangs
Finding a way to bring value to others always boomerangs in some way.
—
Victoria Thomas, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2025
Victoria Thomas, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomerangs
Verb
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When a star dies and collapses, its mass is concentrated into an unimaginably dense point.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 June 2026
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Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper need to hit their open threes as the Knicks' defense collapses.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in f—ing basketball history, flops.—
Devon Henderson,
New York Times,
4 May 2026
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One of the best bigs in [expletive] basketball history flops.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
Verb
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When C-suite talk backfires The very political job of leading a company requires an agile communication style and the ability to quickly tailor language and messaging to meet the moment at hand.—
Claire Zillman,
Fortune,
28 May 2026
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Obsession shows how Bear’s selfish wish removes Nikki’s agency and backfires horribly, destroying his life and eroding Nikki’s sense of self.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boomerangs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomerangs. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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