CAUGHT UP Synonyms: 104 Similar and Opposite Words

caught up

verb

past tense of catch up

as in trapped

to catch or hold as if in a net a young idealist who got caught up in the political fanaticism of the times

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in fascinated

to hold the attention of as if by a spell completely caught up in opera ever since he saw La Traviata

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in interested

to hold the attention of so caught up in the game that she didn't note the passage of time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in informed

to give information to catch me up on what's been happening at the office

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 caught up Major retailers including luxury groups such as Louis Vuitton and Rolex and beauty retailer Sephora were caught up in the violence, Reuters reported. — Sadie Andrew, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 In the meantime, Literary Hub caught up with the finalists to ask them a few questions about their reading and writing lives. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026 At least 350 supermarkets — a small fraction of the total number in France — were caught up in the strike. — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026 There were portable classrooms doing double duty at the elementary school half a mile away because enrollment was up more than 500%, and the district hadn’t caught up yet. — Ken Lundin, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026 Meta announced its most powerful AI model to date, Muse Wonder, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the Financial Times showed that Meta had caught up to frontier. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 Permanent faculty numbers finally caught up to pre-pandemic levels in 2025. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026 But even after Ryan caught up to the quarterback, Maiava barely broke his stride. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 Created by Lauren Iungerich, Poser is a thriller in which two estranged former best friends get caught up in a psychological game after one gets the life she’s always coveted. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for caught up

Verb

Russia and Ukraine are engaged in talks on ending the plight of people trapped in Oleshky, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said in an interview with Espreso.

— SAMYA KULLAB, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
The friction over editorial decisions, particularly around Israel, has trapped CBS in its own Middle East media war.

— semafor.com, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of trapped

Verb

Kember, who grew up in a Catholic household, and Pierce, the son of a proselytizer, were fascinated by spirituality.

— Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026
In 2008, passionate surfer Tim Russo purchased the property, renamed it, and set out to organically grow it into a resort full of wonder where serious surfers and travelers fascinated with the surf lifestyle could vacation happily.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of fascinated

Verb

Mandel’s work also informed a 2012 New York Times Magazine column on how the art market thrives on inequality, which argued that fine art belongs less to the broader global economy than to the peculiar economy of the very rich.

— Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Regular two-way communication, where staff are heard, not just informed, combined with genuine empathy for the disruption, gives people something to hold onto.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of informed

Verb

Besides the challenge of rebuilding the tunnel, the railroad has been tangled for several years in legal disputes with the city of Fort Bragg and the California Coastal Commission.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
But ordinary matter, which interacts using all four fundamental forces, would get all tangled up.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of tangled

Verb

My daughter was enchanted by the Balinese rice-on-the-forehead ritual for good fortune that is a part of the arrival, and the front desk staff happily indulged her request to do it again—multiple times a day.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
Perhaps too enchanted, as Pitt lost his date on the dance floor that night.

— Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of enchanted

Verb

Jason Oppenheim, the luxury real estate broker best known for his role on Selling Sunset, was intrigued by Pratt and Raman this election cycle.

— Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
My 15-year-old daughter just got her learner’s permit, so when I was pitched a new gadget tailored to teen drivers, I was intrigued.

— Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of intrigued

Verb

Estefanía Mondragón, executive director of PODER of Idaho told the crowd to expect at least 12 more immigration bills in next year’s legislative session.

— Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2026
Weeks before the shootdown, the spies allegedly reported on the naval airbase in Key West and were told to transmit Brothers to the Rescue flight data back to the Cuban authorities.

— Liv Caputo Herald, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026