as in incentive
something given or promised in order to improperly influence a person's conduct or decision
that judge refused a huge bribe to dismiss the charges against the wealthy defendant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to lure
to influence someone with a bribe
meat inspectors were bribed, and the contaminated beef was sold to the public
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 bribe
Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Federal prosecutors in South Florida later charged him with conspiracy to launder money and pay bribes to Venezuelan officials.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Episode 1, for example, comes over as a political thriller with horror tropes where Prime Minister Adolfo Saúrez battles in 1976 to persuade – or bribe – a Francoist parliament to vote itself out of existence.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Noun
By then the city had already paid $11 million in settlements and $20 million to outside law firms over nine years to defend cases involving Watts, who led a crew of tactical officers accused of framing innocent people who wouldn’t pay bribes.
—Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Federal prosecutors in South Florida later charged him with conspiracy to launder money and pay bribes to Venezuelan officials.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
The indictment charged Gorrín with conspiring to bribe Venezuelan officials, including former national treasurer Alejandro Andrade, who pleaded guilty and served prison time in the United States.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Episode 1, for example, comes over as a political thriller with horror tropes where Prime Minister Adolfo Saúrez battles in 1976 to persuade – or bribe – a Francoist parliament to vote itself out of existence.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bribe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bribe
Noun
-
The core problem, attorney fee incentives, was left untouched.—
Tom Manzo,
Oc Register,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The incentive structure is based on multiples of five cases from the Criminal Trial Support Unit’s unassigned defendants’ list, where bar advocates can take on five, 10, or 15 such cases for a possible maximum of $7,500 in incentive bonuses — 15 cases at $500 each.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The cab’s dark interior seems to lure Rauschenberg in, but perhaps he was also drawn to the small round window, like a porthole, above the seat, which looks out at the distance behind the carriage.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Wildlife officials attempted to lure the bear out using bait, lights and noise, but the animal continued returning to the space.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Still, the fix comes as thousands of cases remain unresolved.—
Nicole Sganga,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Abdulhak, at the time, was in a fix.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Many of those fertilizer prices have exploded 40% or more in just a couple weeks, and at the worst time possible — right when farmers are about to buy before the growing season.—
E.J. Antoni,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The largest deal amounted to $40 billion, with Nvidia, Microsoft, BlackRock and Elon Musk’s xAI forming part of a consortium of investors to buy Aligned Data Centers.—
April Roach,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
To check whether progesterone was the trigger, the researchers removed the female from the barrier tank and replaced her with conical plastic tubes coated with various chemical stimuli, sliding them into the small holes of the wall divider.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In general, weight loss means less load on your bones, which reduces the stimulus to create new bone cells.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Intrigued, the Duke secretly seduces Gilda, breaks her heart and destroys Rigoletto’s life.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Tommy disburses stuffings and sauces to hungry locals as the GIs seduced their grandmothers with Camels and nylon stockings.—
Dominic Green,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
What were the hostage takers’ motivations?—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The other is a patchy, unpersuasive psychodrama about the underlying motivations and years-later ramifications of an unspeakable act—or, in this case, an unrealized plan to commit an unspeakable act.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The actual scene of the Denny’s Plan, in which Clark visits a famously gay Denny’s while on a work trip in Chicago to entice a fine young gentleman to meet up with Floyd as Tiger Tiger, is where Bateman really shines this week.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
6 Apr. 2026
-
More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in such plans, enticed by lower monthly premiums and extra benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, according to health policy research firm KFF.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bribe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bribe. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
