1
as in lurched
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions
the sled careened as it barreled down the hill
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in staggered
to move forward while swaying from side to side
he careened unsteadily to the couch after hitting his head
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in sped
to proceed or move quickly
sounding its siren, an ambulance careened through the intersection
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of careened
As Bello careened toward an early exit, Skubal made mincemeat of the righty-heavy lineup Cora deployed.
—
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Mason McTavish’s downward tip got through Tolopilo’s wickets but careened across the crease and wide.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 13 Apr. 2026
Pena was shifted perfectly up the middle to field it and step on second for the third out, but the grounder careened off the bag into the outfield for an RBI double.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2026
During just the first hour of Tuesday’s trading, the Dow careened between a gain of 74 points and a loss of 425.
—Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
After sliding about 1,000 vertical feet, Bhatta careened into a patch of snow and stopped.
—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
The car then careened through two yards before hitting a Chevrolet Equinox parked in the driveway of a home, officials said.
—Michael Guise, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
One commercial jet careened into a seawall while landing in heavy fog; another plunged into Tokyo Bay for unknown reasons; yet another, into Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, also for unknown reasons.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
The shot careened off the rim and the crowd erupted as Texas State defeated the Mountaineers 60-57 — its seventh victory in eight games.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Mason McTavish’s downward tip got through Tolopilo’s wickets but careened across the crease and wide.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 13 Apr. 2026
Pena was shifted perfectly up the middle to field it and step on second for the third out, but the grounder careened off the bag into the outfield for an RBI double.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2026
During just the first hour of Tuesday’s trading, the Dow careened between a gain of 74 points and a loss of 425.
—Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
After sliding about 1,000 vertical feet, Bhatta careened into a patch of snow and stopped.
—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
The car then careened through two yards before hitting a Chevrolet Equinox parked in the driveway of a home, officials said.
—Michael Guise, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
One commercial jet careened into a seawall while landing in heavy fog; another plunged into Tokyo Bay for unknown reasons; yet another, into Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, also for unknown reasons.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
The shot careened off the rim and the crowd erupted as Texas State defeated the Mountaineers 60-57 — its seventh victory in eight games.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for careened
Verb
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Each assault count corresponds to a moment Mendoza Hernandez’s car lurched forward, about seven seconds apart.—
Scott Lebar. Story produced with AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2026
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France lurched from republic to dictatorship to empire before cycling back through absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, Second Republic, and Second Empire.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Indiana has staggered statewide elections, so Bray is not up for reelection until 2028, but his leadership position could be in jeopardy with the results of Tuesday's election.—
Caroline Linton,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
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By the time the Magic staggered into Detroit for Game 7 on Sunday afternoon, the outcome felt less like a question and more like an inevitability.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Kimmel’s pretend roast The license probe reportedly was sped up after the Kimmel joke.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 Apr. 2026
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The city has released unedited footage showing the high-speed, life-or-death negotiation that played out when a robbery suspect sped off with an Antioch officer inside his getaway car, then attempted to negotiate out of trouble until being shot in the leg.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The 28-year-old Nakatani, a southpaw, used his longer reach to keep Inoue’s punches at bay, while Inoue simply swayed his body or got out of the way.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 May 2026
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One key problem with California’s direct democracy is that voters are easily swayed by broad promises, but then lose interest in real-world outcomes.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Remembering Ted Turner, an American original Ted Turner, the brash, visionary entrepreneur who founded CNN, transformed cable television, raced yachts in the America's Cup, and became one of America's leading conservationists, died May 6 at 87.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
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The California fan, Andrea Esperanza Martinez, raced up to her idol.—
Leena Tailor,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Haitian immigrants became eligible after an earthquake rocked the country in 2010.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
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Zack Bolduc and Cole Caufield, on the power play, had spotted Montreal a 2-0 lead as the Bell Centre absolutely rocked again in the anticipation and hope that perhaps their team might take a 3-1 lead over the favoured Lightning.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When the news came that a horse had scratched, a great stir rose, and several of the groomsmen who were sitting in the stalls with their horse wards scurried to start their brisk brushing to get the pine shavings off and used their jute sacks to spit-shine the coats slick.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
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Flyers fans stomped on the animal and nearly destroyed it before security scurried the souvenir away from the rambunctious crowd.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Their struggles are why Buster Posey shook things up by calling up Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
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Eventually, the Thunder shook off the rust from an eight-day break and went up 31-26 at the end of the first quarter, despite 12 points from James.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Careened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/careened. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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