as in stabbed
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
impale a marshmallow or two on that stick and let's start toasting
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of impaled
Within the New York headquarters for Sony Pictures, dressed in a chocolate brown tracksuit ensemble in January, O'Connell, 35, seems surprised to hear how one cosplayer recreated the look of Remmick impaled by a guitar for a fan convention last year.
—
Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
The Ghoul flies wildly out of the hotel window and ends up gruesomely impaled on a pole that's part of a bus stop below.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
Their necks were broken and they were dragged away to the bush to be impaled, their bowels punctured.
—Adam L. Rovner, The Conversation, 31 Oct. 2025
Station 113 races to rescue the man impaled by the railing atop the water tower that was built in the late 1800s and was expanded to four stories in the 1890s to accommodate fire-fighting water tanks.
—Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 18 Oct. 2025
Lucas and Simone had been tasked with holding and then removing a protruding piece of a forklift metal prong impaled in a construction worker’s abdomen.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
The videos, which were shared online, showed baby monkeys being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled and mutilated.
—Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2025
Look for deadfall before pitching the Gatewood Cape, so as best to avoid being impaled by the top half of a tree.
—Grayson Haver Currin, Outside, 2 Sep. 2025
There will already be dead bodies of some of the Vaulters scattered around, including their poor wedding officiant, who got impaled on the wall.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
The Ghoul flies wildly out of the hotel window and ends up gruesomely impaled on a pole that's part of a bus stop below.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
Their necks were broken and they were dragged away to the bush to be impaled, their bowels punctured.
—Adam L. Rovner, The Conversation, 31 Oct. 2025
Station 113 races to rescue the man impaled by the railing atop the water tower that was built in the late 1800s and was expanded to four stories in the 1890s to accommodate fire-fighting water tanks.
—Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 18 Oct. 2025
Lucas and Simone had been tasked with holding and then removing a protruding piece of a forklift metal prong impaled in a construction worker’s abdomen.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
The videos, which were shared online, showed baby monkeys being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled and mutilated.
—Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2025
Look for deadfall before pitching the Gatewood Cape, so as best to avoid being impaled by the top half of a tree.
—Grayson Haver Currin, Outside, 2 Sep. 2025
There will already be dead bodies of some of the Vaulters scattered around, including their poor wedding officiant, who got impaled on the wall.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impaled
Verb
-
Shot a bunch of times in the stomach, twice in the head, stabbed in the arm.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
But the couple's elderly dog was inside the apartment and was stabbed between the eyes, authorities said.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The steppe is sand pierced by grasses and little pale flowers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Bake until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 50 to 60 minutes.—
Jenavieve Christensen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
One of the bullets struck Boyd in the abdomen, traveled through his body, and ultimately punctured one of his lungs.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The knife had punctured his lung.—
Mattha Busby,
Rolling Stone,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An agent in Massachusetts jabbed his finger and thumb into the neck and arteries of a young father who refused to be separated from his wife and 1-year-old daughter.—
Nicole Foy,
ProPublica,
13 Jan. 2026
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As Webster repeatedly jabbed his finger, Rathbun met it with his left hand, as if trying to swat him away.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The visitors picked their way across the rocky coastline, waving at the Islanders to move back and make space.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
McKinsey found that disciplined prioritization delivers 40% more value—not because leaders picked better priorities, but because the organization had room to absorb them.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
With all this ice, barges get stuck.—
Megan Shinn,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Cold temperatures that stuck in Iowa for over a week will continue, but will not be as frigid, forecasts show.—
Kyle Werner,
Des Moines Register,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impaled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impaled. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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