dispatched

verb

past tense of dispatch
1
as in sent
to cause to go or be taken from one place to another dispatched a messenger with urgent news

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroyed
to deprive of life the exterminator dispatched the termites with professional efficiency

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in assassinated
to put to death deliberately during his reign of terror the dictator dispatched thousands without the slightest qualm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in defeated
to achieve a victory over they dispatched the other team without breaking a sweat

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 dispatched Awkward relationships have to be dispatched with abrupt carriage accidents. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026 Atmos Energy crews were dispatched and remain on scene to make the necessary repairs. — CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026 Protesters also took aim at Rama’s Socialist Party headquarters in Tirana, squaring off with riot police who had been dispatched to protect government property. — Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026 Warnings were issued throughout the game on the scoreboard at Acrisure Bounce House Stadium and from the public address announcer and security was dispatched throughout the stadium to remove individuals participating in those chants. — Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026 My full support and gratitude go to the emergency personnel dispatched to the area. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026 Officers were dispatched to a situation where they were pinned down by gunfire while three children were held hostage by a gunman. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026 Collins dispatched Joe Brennan, a retread Democrat, by slightly more than five points. — Chris Smith, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026 The Hawks dispatched those goons from Orlando to start the season and have one more road game tonight in Charlotte before Saturday’s home opener. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispatched
  1. sent
  2. destroyed
  3. assassinated
  4. defeated
  5. killed
  6. murdered
  7. mastered
  8. executed
Verb
  • And last year, the Justice Department sent a letter of warning to leaders in Asheville and Buncombe County, North Carolina, contemplating creating their own programs.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Her supervisor told an FBI investigator that the then-26-year-old had sent him some concerning text messages and emails, according to an affidavit.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of sent
Verb
  • Both the rocket and the camera were destroyed after crashing into the Earth at a speed of about 340 miles per hour.
    — Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Cities outside Paris have been hit hard by the unrest, including Limoges where a fire nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Verb
  • In Cucuta, next to the border with Venezuela, authorities are investigating the murder of a former deputy mayor, who was assassinated on Monday night while on his way home.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In Cucuta, next to the border with Venezuela, authorities are investigating the murder of a former deputy mayor, who was assassinated Monday night on his way home.
    — Manuel Rueda, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of assassinated
Verb
  • In 2026, Keiko Fujimori narrowly defeated a left-wing candidate to win the Peruvian presidency, while most recently, in Colombia, conservative attorney Abelardo de la Espriella bested left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda.
    — David Unsworth, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Since Baker Mayfield signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, the Panthers have defeated their division rivals just once in the past seven meetings, including Carolina’s 43-13 blowout loss at home Sunday.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of defeated
Verb
  • Three people were killed after two helicopters collided midair near an airport in Oregon on Thursday afternoon, October 29, prompting an investigation by federal aviation authorities.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The presidency has been vacant since President Jovenel Moïse was killed in 2021.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of killed
Verb
  • During this same time his father had vanished behind the Bamboo Curtain and was almost certainly persecuted, possibly even murdered, by the same Communists that Hoover claimed to be fighting.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • New or expecting mothers are more likely to be murdered than to die from obstetric causes.
    — Michele Decker, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of murdered
Verb
  • Miller—who is no stranger to extramarital tabloid scandals herself—has also mastered her getting-cheated-on performances.
    — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies says the West Coast city has mastered the art of faster building applications.
    — Isabel Rivera, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of mastered
Verb
  • Smartly, Fischer and Wilson build out this community with its own strange customs, big and small, each executed without explanation, question or complaint.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The researchers worked with RISC-V assembly code, which represents instructions executed by a processor.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of executed

Browse Nearby Words

dispatch
dispatched
dispatches
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dispatched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispatched. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All