as in to bind
to confine or restrain with or as if with chains
Joan of Arc was pinioned to a stake and burned as a heretic
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Recent Examples of pinion
To be clear, there is no sense that Rondón and Ugás are defending the old guard or suggesting that a docile, starving population pinioned under the grip of a dictatorship is big-picture preferable to a rebellious insurgency.
—
Jessica Kiang, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Haas thus theorized that the victim had been pinioned by both heels to the front of the upright beam either with their legs splayed open, frog-like, or with their knees bent and turned to one side.
—Fredrick Kunkle, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Apr. 2023
There is only one substantial object in the show, a set of wooden stocks for pinioning the legs of multiple enslaved people.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for pinion
Jessica Kiang, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Haas thus theorized that the victim had been pinioned by both heels to the front of the upright beam either with their legs splayed open, frog-like, or with their knees bent and turned to one side.
—Fredrick Kunkle, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Apr. 2023
There is only one substantial object in the show, a set of wooden stocks for pinioning the legs of multiple enslaved people.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for pinion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinion
Verb
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When Lawrence wears it, it's bound to be a trend—sheer and floral resurgence, incoming.—
Irene Kim,
Vogue,
12 Jan. 2026
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The Supreme Court in July agreed to hear the separate appeals from the states and is expected to issue final, binding rulings on the merits by late June.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Demin hit a 3-pointer with six seconds to go to tie it, and Banchero missed a 30-footer at the buzzer.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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Schnapp also spoke to PEOPLE about the series ending, insisting that all loose ends had been tied — even his character’s longstanding crush on his best friend Mike (Wolfhard).—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Twenty-one sailors were chained, stripped and sold into slavery.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
9 Jan. 2026
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One of Elizabeth Vartkessian’s clients had been left chained to a bed as a baby with a bottle and some bowls nearby.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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At the time, he was shackled and wearing the sleeveless blue smock intended to prevent its wearer from taking their own life.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Jan. 2026
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While Maduro's hands were in restraints during his transfer to the courthouse, neither he nor wife were shackled in the courtroom.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Trump has also repeatedly lashed out over the state’s incarceration of Tina Peters, the former county clerk convicted of state felonies related to her attempts to prove discredited election conspiracies shared by the president.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
9 Jan. 2026
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According to Augustinus Bader, apply to brows and lashes morning and night.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This comes in the wake of millions of apps being dumped from Play Store for not being good enough and an expansion of Google’s Play Integrity API to fetter app behaviors on phones no longer eligible for security updates — Android 12 or older.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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It’s become a common refrain by the government that the president’s executive power cannot be fettered by the courts.—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pinion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinion. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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