as in listened in (on)
to listen to (another in private conversation)
a nosy traveler who likes to eavesdrop on his fellow airline passengers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eavesdropped (on)
Verb
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The work can be done faster, because it’s centralized, tightly choreographed, closely monitored and possibly automated — but also because multiple things can happen at the same time.—
Ben Christopher,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026 -
Corporations known to have manipulated rental prices & housing supply should be closely monitored.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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People block unwanted numbers, and no one under 30 has heard of the White Pages.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
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He can often be heard on the From Our Own Correspondent programme on the BBC World Service and the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio Two.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Too many of our best and brightest have been overheard crying in bathroom stalls or have abruptly gone off-camera in the middle of a meeting, clearly overwhelmed.—
Catherine Mevs,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
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Malinin himself alluded to the extra weight of the Winter Games when he was overheard after his free skate saying his performance would have been different had he been selected for the Beijing team in 2022.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In October, a resident of View Park-Windsor Hills, an unincorporated neighborhood in West Los Angeles, spied a man descending into a manhole and called police.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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Idling along the road one day for a lunch break, Campos spied someone building houses.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
17 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Eavesdropped (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eavesdropped%20%28on%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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