1
as in wooed
to act so as to make (something) more likely
you're courting disaster if you keep playing with matches
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in dated
to go on dates that may eventually lead to marriage
they courted for a year before getting married
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of courted
Ted Turner, the media mogul and philanthropist behind the cable channels CNN, TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, and the WCW who also courted controversy, died at his home near Tallahassee, Florida on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
—
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2026
Skoric was courted by Kansas, Pitt and West Virginia last year but opted to stay in Europe.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2026
Novo and Lilly have courted consumers without insurance coverage by selling the medications directly through their respective pharmacies or through telehealth providers.
—Ken Alltucker, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
Baselitz courted controversy of a different sort shortly after, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Dangote’s plant, which has shown how local processing can reduce the impact of such global shocks, has led to him being courted by East Africa to build a similar plant in Tanzania.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Beyond Microsoft, Canberra has courted investments from other AI hyperscalers.
—Matthew Chin, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
According to Syth, the reorganization plan was too optimistic from the start, and would have courted danger even if the war never happened.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Jack Daniel’s has been in the news a lot recently, as its parent company Brown-Forman has courted potential mergers with or acquisitions by two different companies—Sazerac (the owner of Buffalo Trace) and Pernod Ricard (the French company that controls Jameson Irish Whiskey).
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 21 Apr. 2026
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2026
Skoric was courted by Kansas, Pitt and West Virginia last year but opted to stay in Europe.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2026
Novo and Lilly have courted consumers without insurance coverage by selling the medications directly through their respective pharmacies or through telehealth providers.
—Ken Alltucker, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
Baselitz courted controversy of a different sort shortly after, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Dangote’s plant, which has shown how local processing can reduce the impact of such global shocks, has led to him being courted by East Africa to build a similar plant in Tanzania.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Beyond Microsoft, Canberra has courted investments from other AI hyperscalers.
—Matthew Chin, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
According to Syth, the reorganization plan was too optimistic from the start, and would have courted danger even if the war never happened.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Jack Daniel’s has been in the news a lot recently, as its parent company Brown-Forman has courted potential mergers with or acquisitions by two different companies—Sazerac (the owner of Buffalo Trace) and Pernod Ricard (the French company that controls Jameson Irish Whiskey).
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for courted
Verb
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Acquiring sports teams and land For much of his life a partying roustabout who wooed beautiful women, the lean, mustachioed sportsman married three times.—
David Bauder,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
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Acquiring sports teams and land For much of his life a partying roustabout who wooed beautiful women with a roguish charm, the lean, mustachioed sportsman married three times.—
David Bauder,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Stewart was referring to West’s infamous feud with Davidson, who dated West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
8 May 2026
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Other investigations showed Darsee had fooled co-authors of many papers that dated back to his college days at Notre Dame.—
Lawrence K. Altman,
STAT,
7 May 2026
Verb
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The Hobart women were invited to New York City to take part in an alternative event to the 2026 Met Gala, both happening May 4.—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Josh Kreutz, son of longtime Bears center and six-time pro bowler Olin Kreutz, is invited to rookie minicamp on a tryout, and wore the same #57 his dad wore.—
Jori Parys,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Courted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/courted. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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