hijacked

variants also highjacked
past tense of hijack
as in commandeered
to take control of (a vehicle) by force some loser tried to hijack the plane with a toy gun

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 hijacked Supporters of these reforms say zoning laws have been hijacked by NIMBYs, and control should be shifted away from local leaders to cities and states. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025 Years of overwork and stress had hijacked my brain. Danielle Postel-Vinay, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025 The WormGPT name itself has been hijacked by other dark AI models as well, including keanu-WormGPT, which utilizes a jailbroken version of X’s Grok. Big Think, 24 Oct. 2025 Our amygdala is overactive, our nervous systems are fried and our dopamine cycles are hijacked by short-term stimuli. Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2025 The film, produced by Star Platinum, dramatizes a 1970 incident in which a communist group hijacked a passenger plane and diverted it to Pyongyang. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Oct. 2025 This is not something that anyone at Westland will say, but there has been quite a bit of press and publicity surrounding the theft, which comes on the heels of a truckload of Santo Tequila being hijacked about a year ago. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 20 Oct. 2025 In April, the Kardashians hijacked the entire Crumbl menu with seven original offerings, including Kris’ Classic Yellow Layer Cake Cookie, Kim’s Snickerdoodle Crumb Cake Cookie and Kylie’s Pink Confetti Sugar Cookie. Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025 This means that the same process that helps the immune system locate dead cells can also, in some cases, be hijacked by viruses to infect new cells. New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hijacked
Verb
  • Under the cover of night, a flotilla of boats, some of them commandeered from local fishermen, tried to cross the Dnipro and land on the embankment near the plant, according to three Ukrainian military officers involved in the planning and execution of the assault.
    Simon Shuster, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
  • There is a First World War U-boat that somehow glides from underneath Lake Michigan all the way to Croatia, commandeered by its captain, post-Armistice, for new and clandestine uses.
    Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The militants have seized large amounts of weaponry from government forces and demonstrated their ability to use drones, says the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), which analyzes terrorist groups.
    Tim Lister, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
  • In 2014, after Russia seized Crimea, President Obama imposed sanctions on the individuals and groups responsible for the aggression.
    Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 31 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hijacked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hijacked. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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