DERAILED Synonyms: 92 Similar and Opposite Words

derailed

verb

past tense of derail

as in distracted

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy according to police, the suspect had been derailed in recent months by mounting financial problems

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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 derailed The height of hurricane season looms, and Gulf Coast refineries have in the past been derailed by major hurricanes hitting the Gulf Coast. — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 Leading the way on offense will be two players whose junior seasons were derailed by injuries, running back Ollie Steiner and wide receiver Jack Burger. — Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026 On June 10, 1971, an Amtrak train derailed near Tonti, about 250 miles southwest of Chicago. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 But injuries derailed Max’s career as a high school quarterback. — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 For a team whose 2025 season was derailed by relentless push-back of their interior line, the situation is unquestionably inauspicious. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026 But, when Coll meets a writer who’s similarly interested in the town’s legacy, his plans get derailed. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Injuries have derailed him since then, with Minnesota becoming his fifth team in four years. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026 Sanford appeared to be on a trajectory for higher office when a very public extramarital affair in 2009 derailed that. — Gavin Jackson, NPR, 11 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for derailed

Verb

Kiser’s husband, Brady Kiser, said he had been briefly distracted while watching Trigg while his wife was away.

— Shayna Jacobs, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2026
Debbie intervenes to defuse the tension, then gets distracted by the presence of her nemesis, Cha Cha.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of distracted

Verb

Peonies don’t like to be disturbed and may not bloom the next year, but division is sometimes necessary.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
The study hypothesized that the sickle was added before the body fully decomposed since no joints were detached or displaced, as archaeologists would expect if a grave were to be disturbed after the body became a skeleton.

— Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of disturbed

Verb

Garcia said that before the attack, residents were already alarmed by a May news release from the city manager of neighboring Rio Vista, who warned that the project and potential annexation could open the door to a giant data center being built.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Terrified Jewish voters—alarmed by progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s anti-Zionist rhetoric—are fleeing to Republican Mike Rogers for self-preservation.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of alarmed

Verb

Right-handed reliever Joel Peguero (left hamstring strain) will be shut down for the rest of the year due to a recurring hamstring strain that’s bothered him since spring training.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026
Woolen’s reaching hands bothered Brown enough that, while fielding another slant, Brown lost his grip on the football, which popped into the air.

— Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of bothered

Verb

The British Royal Navy, worried about French ships falling into German hands following their ally’s defeat, sunk the fleet in the port of Mers-el-Kébir, near Oran in Algeria.

— Rakesh Kumar, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
Last week, biologists opened pens and freed two birds early, worried they might be killed.

— Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of worried

Verb

The White House had previously angered US ranchers by quadrupling low-tariff imports of Argentine beef to cool prices.

— Max Saltman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
During a joint practice last summer in Houston, Moehrig decked Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson on a hard but clean hit that angered a few of Hutchinson’s teammates.

— Joseph Person, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of angered

Verb

Committee delays The county formed a committee, the Advisory Meeting on Public School Capacity, that was supposed to figure out how to fix the problem, but it's been plagued by delays filling its seats and only met for the first time last month.

— Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
His stint with the Bills was plagued by injuries and a Dallas domestic violence case that led to a four-game suspension.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of plagued

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“Derailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derailed. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of derailed

verb

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