harpooned

verb

past tense of harpoon
as in stabbed
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object she deftly harpooned a shrimp with her skewer and held it over the fire

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harpooned
  1. stabbed
  2. punctured
  3. pierced
  4. jabbed
  5. picked
  6. stuck
Verb
  • There was the guy Daemon stabbed through the ear, and then the smelly killers Gwayne sniffed out, and now Ser Adrian, who took a knife to the throat within seconds of seeing Aemond.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Prosecutors argued the evidence supported a murder conviction, with Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell telling jurors Ramsey stabbed Holder 38 times and the infant 17 times inside their Ewa Beach apartment, according to the Star-Advertiser.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of stabbed
Verb
  • People didn’t buy the Old Hollywood Grande of the early 2020s; her headlines punctured the wholesome façade.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Images of Russian delivery warehouses and refineries ablaze have punctured the veneer of safety Moscow has tried to maintain four years into the war.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 31 July 2026
Definition of punctured
Verb
  • According to the artist who made it, John Buckley, and the owner of the home pierced by the shark, Bill Heine, the work was meant as a protest against the recent bombing of Libya, nuclear power and nuclear war, among other things.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 2026
  • In his season of DWTS, Irwin opened up about navigating grief after the death of his father Steve Irwin, who died in 2006 after being pierced by a stingray barb.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026
Definition of pierced
Verb
  • Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu jabbed back against the prevailing narrative yesterday, saying she was never invited to participate in the WNBA’s 3-point contest this weekend.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 24 July 2026
  • Two of the points on the rear treble hook were jabbed deeply into the flesh on the outside of the pike’s mouth.
    — Jack G. Mell, Outdoor Life, 2 July 2026
Definition of jabbed
Verb
  • The mercury telluride colloidal quantum dots the Chinese team picked for their device behave differently.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
  • To help those contemplating a foreign move get started, Forbes has picked 96 attractive retirement locales across 24 different countries on five continents.
    — Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of picked
Verb
  • These new provisions have been met with skepticism from human rights groups, including fears that deportation centers hosted abroad could morph into long-term holding facilities overflowing with asylum seekers stuck in legal limbo.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Bad cops are not being fired, and good cops who may be wrongfully accused are stuck in professional purgatory.
    — Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of stuck
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Harpooned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harpooned. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on harpooned

Nglish: Translation of harpooned for Spanish Speakers

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