boomerangs

verb

present tense third-person singular of boomerang
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of boomerangs Finding a way to bring value to others always boomerangs in some way. — Victoria Thomas, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomerangs
  1. collapses
  2. flops
  3. backfires
Verb
  • Emmanuel Marre | Belgium | 155 min Cannes Best Screenplay winner A MAN OF HIS TIME stars ANATOMY OF A FALL’s Swann Arlaud as a Vichy civil servant whose faith in government collapses amid collaboration, bureaucracy, and moral surrender.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Single-pressing the button collapses the view to show only the arrow and distance to the next turn, while double-pressing the button expands the view to show a map with the full route across the bottom half of the display.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of collapses
Verb
  • In Bait, Ahmed stars as struggling actor Shah Latif, who flops in his audition to play James Bond and then becomes consumed by the quest to become the first Pakistani 007.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Starter addition flops Last season’s trade deadline wound up being a big flop.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of flops
Verb
  • Boston Bruins The Bruins have an average at best roster and farm system, and trying to win while rebuilding on the fly is something that usually backfires more often than leading to a contending team.
    — Corey Pronman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But, sure enough, the wish backfires as Nikki is driven completely insane by her love for him.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of backfires

Browse Nearby Words

boomeranging
boomerangs
booming
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Cite this Entry

“Boomerangs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomerangs. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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