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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 derailed The violent shaking also derailed a freight train at the Yatsushiro station, NHK reported, citing the JR Freight Railway Company. — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 29 July 2026 The groups recently derailed a neighborhood public meeting about the project, with many demanding to vote on the project. — Dylan Lysen july 29, Kansas City Star, 29 July 2026 Large cracks appeared on major roads, including an elevated highway, and a goods train derailed, according to NHK, while rail ‌services were halted and flights grounded. — CNN Money, 28 July 2026 Van Ness will be charged with leading that group and appeared to be hitting his stride early last season before a foot injury that took far longer to heal than expected derailed his progress. — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 27 July 2026 Chicago Sky's DiJonai Carrington derailed WNBA All-Star headlines after publicly accusing her ex-girlfriend, Las Vegas Aces forward NaLyssa Smith, of cheating with multiple players around the league. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 July 2026 South Carolina derailed Sanders’s momentum in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. — W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2026 Recalling the shooting attempt that derailed the original dinner in April, Jiang recalled the night’s impromptu briefing at the White House. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 25 July 2026 Knapp had a great start to the season which was derailed by injury. — Jeff Hartman, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derailed
  1. distracted
  2. disturbed
  3. alarmed
  4. bothered
  5. concerned
  6. worried
  7. angered
  8. plagued
Verb
  • He was distracted by his own grief, and so was everyone else.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
  • And while the fall prestige slate has not been revealed, the Academy membership has a habit of falling for a summer release in July and then being distracted by new, shiny objects in January.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 23 July 2026
Definition of distracted
Verb
  • The gunk Bondurant observed was likely didymo disturbed off the bottom of the river by people swimming and walking around.
    — Hannah Smith July 25, Idaho Statesman, 25 July 2026
  • By contrast, ecological systems are complexly interconnected, meaning that when one element is disturbed, all the other components linked to it are affected, too, spreading the disturbance throughout the system.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
Definition of disturbed
Verb
  • Among those alarmed by the state’s mounting repression are civil-society figures who have staunchly opposed the war with America and Israel.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • An OpenAI test that escaped its cage and alarmed the AI and cybersecurity industry attacked more than just Hugging Face, the AI platform that initially appeared to be the sole victim of the virtual lab leak.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 July 2026
Definition of alarmed
Verb
  • The effect that Republicans’ Wuhan investigations and right-leaning media had on Fauci’s public image continuously bothered him, according to the writings.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026
  • Johnson took the job partly out of patriotism; he was bothered that so few people knew the smartphone was a Canadian invention.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026
Definition of bothered
Verb
  • As far as the Tampa Bay franchise is concerned, Caminero joined Evan Longoria (four), Carlos Pena (three) and Brandon Lowe (two) as the only players with multiple 30-homer campaigns.
    — Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The homeowner was concerned about cracks that had appeared in some 10-foot tall 6×6 vertical wood deck posts.
    — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of concerned
Verb
  • When Gunther von Hagens’s exhibition came to town, security guards worried less about theft than nausea.
    — Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2026
  • However, Keller residents who posted on social media worried about the proximity of the data center to their homes.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of worried
Verb
  • Rising housing prices, overwhelmed public transport and a flood of tourists in historic districts have angered locals, according to Reuters.
    — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026
  • Others, however, will be angered by the move — mostly because of how Madrid reacted to his 2024 Ballon d’Or victory ahead of Vinicius Junior.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 24 July 2026
Definition of angered
Verb
  • Jackson broke his foot last training camp when a teammate stepped on it during practice, and that injury plagued him all of 2025, and required an offseason procedure that kept him sidelined all OTAs and minicamp.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 27 July 2026
  • As in the last two years, this year’s Tour is plagued by doping.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of plagued

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Cite this Entry

“Derailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derailed. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of derailed for Spanish Speakers

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