as in buccaneers
someone who engages in robbery of ships at sea
Sir Francis Drake was a British pirate who preyed on Spanish ships with the connivance of Elizabeth I
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as in seizes
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
using pirated software that was subject to copyright
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Recent Examples of pirates
Leia Mendoza, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.
—Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2025
For Larissa Knapp, a 27-year FBI veteran who was hired by an entertainment trade group last year to bolster ACE’s work hunting pirates, the timing could hardly have been better.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Leaders in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) focused on combating pirates and handling trade across the strait as Chinese settlers increasingly moved to the island.
—David C. Kang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2025
The structure is similar to how pirates and privateers once attacked foreign enemies at sea on behalf of their government.
—Rick Bennett, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Stevenson’s pirates are a frighteningly murderous and totally untrustworthy bunch, thriving on threats and duplicity.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 15 Sep. 2025
Why don’t pirates shower before walking the plank?
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
Noun
After the pirates save Conomi Islands, the crew set sail on their next adventure, while a new bounty is placed on Luffy.
—Leia Mendoza, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.
—Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2025
For Larissa Knapp, a 27-year FBI veteran who was hired by an entertainment trade group last year to bolster ACE’s work hunting pirates, the timing could hardly have been better.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Leaders in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) focused on combating pirates and handling trade across the strait as Chinese settlers increasingly moved to the island.
—David C. Kang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2025
The structure is similar to how pirates and privateers once attacked foreign enemies at sea on behalf of their government.
—Rick Bennett, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Stevenson’s pirates are a frighteningly murderous and totally untrustworthy bunch, thriving on threats and duplicity.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 15 Sep. 2025
Why don’t pirates shower before walking the plank?
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pirates
Noun
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The conference curated a world of coming wonders for several hundred C-suite buccaneers who had paid up to fifty thousand dollars apiece to update their mental models and investment portfolios.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Dolores notices they are gone and begins to lash out, and Abby seizes an opportunity to knock Dolores out.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
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Continue reading … CRYPTO CRACKDOWN – DOJ seizes record $15 billion in Bitcoin in largest US forfeiture ever.—
,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The team claims the work demonstrates a deformable material performing matrix-vector multiplication directly through motion, without requiring an electrical conversion.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
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When the movie was being wrapped up, Robertson claims Helm wasn’t keen on shooting the additional soundstage footage that featured the Staple Singers and Emmylou Harris, and would have preferred to keep the extra cash for themselves.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Set in 1492, the series follows Sara, the defiant daughter of Granada’s chief Rabbi, exiled during Spain’s expulsion of its Jewish population and captured by Ottoman corsairs (‘Korsan’ in Turkish).—
Ben Croll,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Helm topples trees, uproots crops, overturns feed stacks, steals loose blankets.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The bounty hunter kills some random dudes who are dumb enough to cross him and steals a Falka doll from some little girls who have adopted the Rats as folk heroes.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Its namesake, cattleman Oliver Loving, was shot by a band of raiders during a cattle drive in 1866, and died of shock a few days later after a doctor didn’t amputate his gangrenous arm.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
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All of them have been broken into by raiders over the centuries, their walls smashed or lids prised off despite once being locked shut with metal clasps.—
Barry Neild,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Electric front loaders are rarely inexpensive, and this one is no exception – starting at €6,495 (which converts to around US$7,500 – though there's no word on international availability).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
31 Oct. 2025
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Rondo’s system converts cheap renewable electricity into heat that can be discharged on demand into industrial processes.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After Grace quotes Zooey Deschanel's character, Thames grabs her face and kisses her out of the frame.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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Another strong Lions performance could mark a turning point this season where Detroit grabs control of the division and doesn't look back.—
Nick Meyer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pirates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pirates. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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