as in squeezed
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
the Internet opened up a whole new medium for con artists to pluck the gullible
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Recent Examples of plucked
On screen, that depth is anchored by Williams and Storrie, actors plucked from restaurant-server obscurity.
—
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 May 2026
And wow, how juicy that fruit is, plucked straight from the plant and carved by Balala with a machete.
—Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 14 May 2026
The character seems not so much drawn from experience as plucked from a vat of pulp cliché.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 May 2026
The purpose was to attract buyers and visitors to a city that seemed to be plucked out of a storybook.
—Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
The rounds came and went, one linebacker after another plucked off the board in front of him.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 7 May 2026
There’s no trace of anything strummed or plucked; clusters of tone simply materialize out of thin air, as capricious as weather.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 6 May 2026
He’s plucked employees from companies like Uber, Google, and Facebook to professionalize the place.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 6 May 2026
One of those appointees would be plucked from a nominee list drawn up by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, and another must be a current or former member of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents many RTD train and bus operators.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 May 2026
And wow, how juicy that fruit is, plucked straight from the plant and carved by Balala with a machete.
—Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 14 May 2026
The character seems not so much drawn from experience as plucked from a vat of pulp cliché.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 May 2026
The purpose was to attract buyers and visitors to a city that seemed to be plucked out of a storybook.
—Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
The rounds came and went, one linebacker after another plucked off the board in front of him.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 7 May 2026
There’s no trace of anything strummed or plucked; clusters of tone simply materialize out of thin air, as capricious as weather.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 6 May 2026
He’s plucked employees from companies like Uber, Google, and Facebook to professionalize the place.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 6 May 2026
One of those appointees would be plucked from a nominee list drawn up by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, and another must be a current or former member of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents many RTD train and bus operators.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plucked
Verb
-
Dwight reached out and squeezed my upper arm, pulling me into a bear hug, smashing my face against the rough canvas of his jacket, his gloved hand on my ass pulling me closer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
-
Patrick Mahomes’ torn right ACL and LCL prevented a late-season surge that might have squeezed KC into the postseason and another fateful meeting.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Dominguez hustled back to the wall and made a spectacular catch, but crashed incredibly hard into the wall.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
-
Caminero led off with a walk, then hustled to third when Aranda followed with a single.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
Now owned by the National Gallery in London, the painting, showing Roman god Cupid complaining to his mother Venus about being stung by bees, can be seen in the center of a blurry, black-and-white photograph dating to the 1940s that was published in a 1978 furniture catalog.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
11 May 2026
-
Teng stung in fourth The Astros deployed Kai-Wei Teng as an opener for the second time this season.—
Matt Kawahara,
Houston Chronicle,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Even at Princeton, obviously, some students have always cheated.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
-
To the curry-sphere and beyond Iyer cheated a touch with the book’s title because some chapters exist outside of the sauce world.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
11 May 2026
Verb
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The Frenchman is a front-footed middle man who gets stuck into tackles, is relatively press-resistant and will often resort to dribbling to get out of tight spots.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Not to mention, the benefits stuck without longterm monitoring.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
12 May 2026
Verb
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If Miranda Priestly can get thrown in steerage, we’re all screwed.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But that doesn’t mean working people aren’t getting screwed.—
Stuart Miller,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In March, Israel dropped charges against five soldiers who had been accused of beating and sodomizing a Palestinian detainee in an alleged assault partially caught on camera.—
Sam Mednick,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
Mike Yastrzemski drove in three, including two on his first homer of the season as part of a four-run fifth, and the Braves beat the Cubs 5-2 in the opener of a three-game series at Truist Park.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plucked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plucked. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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