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
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Recent Examples of careened
And Rodolfo Fernandez de Velasco, 71, was found dead in his vehicle with the driver’s side seat belt fastened tightly around his neck after his car careened into a fence in Miami in January.
—
Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2025
Lombardo, who adored Haley, his first grandchild, and spent a lot of time with her, was carrying her across the street to enter the hospital when a car careened toward them out of control.
—Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2025
In January 2018, a car careened off Torrey Pines Road onto the adjacent hillside, landing in the yard of one of the Coast Walk houses below.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
Two days earlier, a Delta Air Lines jet careened onto its roof Monday while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025
On a recent evening in the East Village, the dancers Kris Lee and AJ Wilmore careened across a studio, grappling and colliding with each other.
—Siobhan Burke, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
This is a man who, in just over two weeks of his second term, has careened from one disastrous decision to another, to the point where even his most loyal sycophants are struggling to keep up.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
The rebound careened right back to his stick, and the reigning MVP easily put it in the net past a diving Hellebuyck, who appeared to still be trying to find the puck off the initial shot.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 22 Jan. 2025
The Cinder then careened toward At Attin, with SM-33 doing his best to right the ship enough for a safe-ish landing.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 14 Jan. 2025
Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2025
Lombardo, who adored Haley, his first grandchild, and spent a lot of time with her, was carrying her across the street to enter the hospital when a car careened toward them out of control.
—Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2025
In January 2018, a car careened off Torrey Pines Road onto the adjacent hillside, landing in the yard of one of the Coast Walk houses below.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
Two days earlier, a Delta Air Lines jet careened onto its roof Monday while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025
On a recent evening in the East Village, the dancers Kris Lee and AJ Wilmore careened across a studio, grappling and colliding with each other.
—Siobhan Burke, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
This is a man who, in just over two weeks of his second term, has careened from one disastrous decision to another, to the point where even his most loyal sycophants are struggling to keep up.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
The rebound careened right back to his stick, and the reigning MVP easily put it in the net past a diving Hellebuyck, who appeared to still be trying to find the puck off the initial shot.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 22 Jan. 2025
The Cinder then careened toward At Attin, with SM-33 doing his best to right the ship enough for a safe-ish landing.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 14 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for careened
Verb
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If you’ve been swayed by the new ad promoting the Apple Watch as a great device to boost your motivation and help keep your new year’s resolutions, then a new sales at Amazon and Best Buy are timely.—
David Phelan,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
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An owner seemingly swayed in personnel decisions by video game player rankings.—
Jim Reineking,
USA TODAY,
27 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Initially convinced that Sheri had been abducted, the two staggered onto a nearby highway and flagged down a car for help.—
Johnny Dodd,
People.com,
21 Dec. 2024
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The collapse of the Assad Regime in Syria is the latest in a series of political and military defeats that have staggered the Kremlin.—
Daniel Markind,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Richard Arnold, the chief executive whose departure had already been announced, went round the room and shook everyone’s hand, expressing his belief the future at United would be bright.—
Adam Crafton,
The Athletic,
23 Dec. 2024
-
The camera then cut to Johansson, who shook her head while grimacing.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
22 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Strong trading revenues drove the beat, and shares rose 2% in early trading.—
Catherine Baab,
Quartz,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Michael Busch drove an elevated fastball into the seats, the first extra-base hit Sasaki had surrendered all season.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Fox immediately jumped back in on the top power-play unit.—
Peter Baugh,
The Athletic,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Migrant apprehensions jumped by 57% from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, along the San Diego border — from 216,955 to 341,580, according to Customs and Border Protection data.—
Roxana Popescu,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Tippett aggressively zipped over to Sillinger and laid him out, upending the young center before making his way to the bench for a line change.—
Kevin Kurz,
The Athletic,
22 Dec. 2024
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And the quarter-zip top can be zipped all the way up to protect your neck from the elements.—
Nicol Natale,
People.com,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
There are six monochrome colors to choose from, and the good news for shoppers who find that their pants tend to run too short or too long is that each colorway has the option to choose between a 31- or 29-inch inseam.—
Annita Katee,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Jan. 2025
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Seattle’s offensive line allows a lot of pressure, the team doesn’t run the ball much (or very well) and the quarterback is often in pure passing situations without any misdirection or run threat.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Careened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/careened. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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