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
Our guide in Moscow, Tanya, was a middle-aged woman who wore thick glasses plucked from a swiveling Optika stand at a Metro station.
—
Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Somberness, as well as anger and sadness, color the majority of the songs plucked from Springsteen's vast catalog to underscore the reason for this 20-date tour.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
In desperation, Apple plucked its next CEO from its own board, Gil Amelio, who had engineered a turnaround at computer chipmaker National Semiconductor.
—ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
From Gore, acquired for five prospects from Washington, to Brandon Nimmo, swapped for Marcus Semien, to Andrew McCutchen, plucked for a bag of beans, there were big contributions across the board from the newcomers.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 29 Mar. 2026
Some songs here have been plucked from Robyn’s back catalog and given a dusting up for the 2020s.
—Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2026
Come down from your tower for a steak, some seafood plucked from Gulf waters, a martini.
—Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2026
The Kings plucked a point from that affair thanks to a third-period tally from winger Artemi Panarin, who scored their only goal a night earlier against the Buffalo Sabres.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026
The team was always clear that the cast needed to be mostly up-and-coming talent, many of whom have been plucked from the growing world of social media comedy.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Somberness, as well as anger and sadness, color the majority of the songs plucked from Springsteen's vast catalog to underscore the reason for this 20-date tour.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
In desperation, Apple plucked its next CEO from its own board, Gil Amelio, who had engineered a turnaround at computer chipmaker National Semiconductor.
—ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
From Gore, acquired for five prospects from Washington, to Brandon Nimmo, swapped for Marcus Semien, to Andrew McCutchen, plucked for a bag of beans, there were big contributions across the board from the newcomers.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 29 Mar. 2026
Some songs here have been plucked from Robyn’s back catalog and given a dusting up for the 2020s.
—Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2026
Come down from your tower for a steak, some seafood plucked from Gulf waters, a martini.
—Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2026
The Kings plucked a point from that affair thanks to a third-period tally from winger Artemi Panarin, who scored their only goal a night earlier against the Buffalo Sabres.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026
The team was always clear that the cast needed to be mostly up-and-coming talent, many of whom have been plucked from the growing world of social media comedy.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plucked
Verb
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Some parents feel squeezed when gifted assets significantly appreciate, according to Robert Westley of Northern Trust.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
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Higher gas prices can also hurt sales inside the gas stations, if customers who are being squeezed at the pump spend less on other things.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Also in that story is a look at how the Padres catchers are balancing their offensive and defensive duties, and Jeff hustled out to the box seats atop the Green Monster to talk to the Padres fan who caught Machado’s homer.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The dads and sons hustled to a nearby dirt patch.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Santos stung a volley from outside the box midway through the second half after juggling the ball with her knee, but Silkowitz dived to her right to push the ball wide of the post.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
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Anyone who is stung repeatedly or has trouble breathing should call 911.—
Rey Covarrubias Jr,
AZCentral.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The chat room was on fire, because Magnus Carlsen had lost to the kid—Hans Niemann—and then implied that Hans had cheated.—
Ben Mezrich,
Vanity Fair,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Paul Bearman isn’t the type to just move on after he’s been cheated.—
Rich Schapiro,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That mindset, which teachers would sometimes unwittingly perpetuate, was keeping kids stuck.—
Megan Molteni,
STAT,
7 Apr. 2026
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This helps avoid the common problem of getting stuck in the pilot phase, a challenge facing many companies, a recent report by Deloitte found.—
Francesca Cassidy,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Semi-screwed There’s a world in which Colby was the most screwed over by the rock draw — because Dee and Emily are friends who already played together, and both were aligned with Cirie — but that world is one in which he was not injured and likely limping out of the game anyway.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Apr. 2026
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A lot of times, much of a Hollywood memoir is someone saying this person screwed me over, this bad thing happened, and so on.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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His snapper and one-timer are borderline elite and can cleanly beat goalies from anywhere in the offensive zone (the puck really rattles off his blade).—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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The Swedish winger snapped a shot from the high slot that beat Dostal glove-side for his team-leading 73rd point.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plucked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plucked. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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