as in used
to put into action or service
huge dams harness the power of water to produce electricity
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Recent Examples of harnessed
My losses only grew over my formative years, like a black hole whose gravity had harnessed me.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026
Led by Taiki Ishiyama, PhD, a physicist at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Science in Japan, the project harnessed a rare orbital transition in atoms, which was long considered promising but too difficult to measure with high precision.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 Apr. 2026
Amanda Fischer, former Securities and Exchange Commission chief of staff who is now the policy director at advocacy group Better Markets, said prediction market sites Kalshi and Polymarket are increasingly becoming mainstream by using the playbook harnessed by the cryptocurrency industry.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 2 Apr. 2026
But the results reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine come as doctors increasingly are exploring how a technology long used in aerospace and other industries might be harnessed for better health, too.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Soon, Dan Bricklin’s VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet software, harnessed the power of the Apple II's disk drive and became the system's killer app for businesses.
—Jamie Lendino, PC Magazine, 30 Mar. 2026
The two accessed both of those energies and harnessed them to make the show.
—Emilee Coblentz, Outside, 23 Mar. 2026
For example, a time usually marked by slumber might be countered with diligence, while a time of dedicated attention could be harnessed for deeper reflection.
—Jue Liang, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
But Kylie has harnessed the power of meta-fame in the age of social media better than anyone.
—Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026
Led by Taiki Ishiyama, PhD, a physicist at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Science in Japan, the project harnessed a rare orbital transition in atoms, which was long considered promising but too difficult to measure with high precision.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 Apr. 2026
Amanda Fischer, former Securities and Exchange Commission chief of staff who is now the policy director at advocacy group Better Markets, said prediction market sites Kalshi and Polymarket are increasingly becoming mainstream by using the playbook harnessed by the cryptocurrency industry.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 2 Apr. 2026
But the results reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine come as doctors increasingly are exploring how a technology long used in aerospace and other industries might be harnessed for better health, too.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Soon, Dan Bricklin’s VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet software, harnessed the power of the Apple II's disk drive and became the system's killer app for businesses.
—Jamie Lendino, PC Magazine, 30 Mar. 2026
The two accessed both of those energies and harnessed them to make the show.
—Emilee Coblentz, Outside, 23 Mar. 2026
For example, a time usually marked by slumber might be countered with diligence, while a time of dedicated attention could be harnessed for deeper reflection.
—Jue Liang, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
But Kylie has harnessed the power of meta-fame in the age of social media better than anyone.
—Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harnessed
Verb
-
Some early testers have used Skills to quickly enter prompts to calculate protein macros in a recipe, generate side-by-side comparisons across multiple tabs while shopping, and summarize lengthy documents, Google adds.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Majorities used it for research before seeing a doctor or after an appointment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Bain would likely struggle in a 3-4 scheme, but would best be utilized in a wide-9 scheme, which Miami could potentially run.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
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The Next Gen Road Safety Act will help close the gap between what technology is available and what technology is actually utilized, with an ultimate goal of reducing pursuit crashes, injuries and deaths, according to Friedman.—
Sierra van der Brug,
Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Andrew, a senior, applied in the fall of 1984.—
John McPhee,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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More than 2,800 households have applied for the compensation program.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, the lines between exploiter and exploited, powerful and powerless, hero and villain blur in ways that are sometimes satirical, sometimes sad and occasionally thrilling.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
-
In 2023, the company disclosed that criminals had exploited a flaw in its payment systems to steal about $20 million in corporate funds.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Hornets’ starting lineup also boasts the highest offensive rating among all starting lineups, per the NBA’s advanced stats — and that group, in fact, has the highest offensive rating of all lineups employed across the NBA that have logged at least 172 minutes together.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Apr. 2026
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Witzburg, who is set to leave office later this month as her term expires, declined to identify the staffer or the mayoral administration that employed them.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harnessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harnessed. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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