churned

past tense of churn
1
as in swirled
to be in a state of violent rolling motion a churning sea made getting to the island a risky undertaking

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in stirred
to cause (as a liquid) to move about in a circle especially repeatedly churn the cream until it turns into butter

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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 churned The stock churned in a wide range all spring and summer, unable to generate any conviction above that ceiling. Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026 Gelato is churned more slowly than ice cream, giving it a dense, almost taffy-like chewy texture. Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 19 Aug. 2026 European butter is typically churned for a longer amount of time, which means that more buttermilk and water drains off of the solids. Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2026 All the while the fMRI churned on, peering through the dogs’ skulls into the brain below and looking for the areas that lit up as a result of the visual stimuli. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 10 Aug. 2026 Not to say that milk doesn’t have a summer purpose—churned, say, into ice cream, or blended into a milkshake—but to most people, these frozen treats are the beginning and end of the list. Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 25 July 2026 In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Wednesday. ABC News, 23 July 2026 Dashboards, analysis and reporting showed which transactions cleared, which disputes opened and which customers churned. Terdawn Deboe, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 The desert — churned, sucked and acid-washed — rests in these graveyards of the Anthropocene. Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churned
Verb
  • Over the weekend, rumors swirled that Anthropic was on the cusp of announcing that one of its AI models had cracked one of the Millennium Prize Problems.
    Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Bethany Donaphin Head of WNBA league operations As rumors swirled about Engelbert’s enture, insiders around the league have been mentioning Donaphin as a potential replacement.
    Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • That’s as economic hardship and long lines at gas stations have already stirred some fresh protests, though not at the massive scale that was seen in January.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Nicolas Cage will take his vodka martini shaken, not stirred.
    Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The agitation of the team’s fanbase boiled to the surface this summer.
    Andy McCullough, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Super-fresh corn on the cob hardly needs to be cooked, let alone boiled.
    Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Linen, washed cotton, lightweight knits, and silk all have a natural ease to them that works beautifully on vacation.
    Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
  • In many cases, bodies have been washed far downstream and rendered unrecognizable, while others still missing are feared to have been buried in the torrent of thick mud.
    Andrew Jones, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • DJs spun Wasian musicians, including Rodrigo, Mitski, and Japanese Breakfast.
    E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • During the cocktail hour, DJ Mia Moretti spun admirably, and the dinner began with two songs from an up-and-coming musician named Mimi Webb, who did her best to warm up the room.
    Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 7 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Melissa Wegman, a Democratic retiree who is also from Bakersfield, said she was shocked when the pump recently whirled to $128 to fill the tank on her SUV.
    Mike Catalini, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Throughout all this chaos, the Fleetwood Mac touring machine whirled on.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 July 2026
Verb
  • When Burgess put both their names on the sign outside their Bridgeport, Connecticut, workshop, Fuller seethed.
    Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Despite performing alongside the Sailors, Burney quietly seethed over the way Guzmán treated the band, and Fernández in particular.
    Longreads, Longreads, 5 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Churned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churned. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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