as in prohibited
not legally permissible to possess, import, or export
The customs agents searched the shipping containers for contraband items.
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Recent Examples of contraband
To combat the proliferation of drugs, the state reportedly began shipping inmates farther from their home counties before the pandemic, farther from the friends and family that officials said bore some blame for contraband entering prisons.
—
Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
This comes after airspace violations involving balloons carrying contraband cigarettes which had previously forced the closure of airspace earlier in the month.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Shkreli, for one, was reportedly running his pharmaceutical company from behind bars using a contraband smartphone, according to the Wall Street Journal.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
According to his report, nearly half of the 26 employees charged were for drug and contraband related crimes, including bringing marijuana, meth and fentanyl into the facility.
—Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contraband
Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
This comes after airspace violations involving balloons carrying contraband cigarettes which had previously forced the closure of airspace earlier in the month.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Shkreli, for one, was reportedly running his pharmaceutical company from behind bars using a contraband smartphone, according to the Wall Street Journal.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
According to his report, nearly half of the 26 employees charged were for drug and contraband related crimes, including bringing marijuana, meth and fentanyl into the facility.
—Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contraband
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contraband
Adjective
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There is, however, room for questions about where the line between prohibited and acceptable political involvement will fall in practice.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
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The list of prohibited and restricted items, as found on the CBP website, includes alcohol, biological materials, firearms, food and produce such as fruits and vegetables, soil, wildlife, fish, and gold, among other items.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Around the same time, the Feds warned that compromised streaming and IoT devices were being used to gain unauthorized access to home networks and funnel traffic into criminal proxy services.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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Sharing unauthorized information about Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine war is punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment.—
Max Hastings,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The smuggled fungus, Fusarium graminearum, can cause billions in crop losses and is harmful to humans and livestock.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
13 Nov. 2025
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Laboratory tests of smuggled samples taken from late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned when he was imprisoned in a Siberian penal colony, his widow Yulia Navalnaya has said.—
Anna Chernova,
CNN Money,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These range from the pages being discolored by demonic forces, or that the pages once contained forbidden texts, now removed.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Dec. 2025
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The forbidden rice added a nice nuttiness and some extra heft, and juicy mandarin sections provided lovely pops of fruity sweetness.—
Lizzy Briskin,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are active along Ecuador’s coast and have used fishermen and their small boats to transport illicit shipments, according to local police.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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On the DeFi front, crypto advocates are fighting to ensure developers do not face prosecution when their technology is used for illicit activities like money laundering.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contraband.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contraband. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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