pried 1 of 2

past tense of pry
1
as in pulled
to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever it took some effort to pry up the trap door

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2

pried

2 of 2

verb (2)

past tense of pry

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pried
Verb
After the Navy shipped out, hurricane-force Aleutian winds pried homes apart. Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 20 July 2026 My sternum was fractured, my rib cage pried open. Will MacKin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026 Lonnie has plenty stacked against him, not least of all his own son, who is inching closer to surpassing his status in the golf world — people are even starting to call him the Hawk, a torch that had to have been pried out of his father’s hand. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2026 Last year, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that thieves had pried off a bronze plaque dedicating the building to the history of philadelphia from its main entrance. Christopher Hooks, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 When peacemakers finally pried apart Slaughter and Dropo, Slaughter had his jersey ripped, but Dropo had taken the more telling punches. Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026 On May 5, three people dressed in waterproof hip waders and other protective gear pried open a maintenance hole cover and descended into the sewer on a street in Queens. Philip Marcelo, Fortune, 3 June 2026 Pleasure and pressure, individual desire and collective manipulation—these would-be poles all overlap on bitknot because they can’t be pried apart in life. Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 1 June 2026 But the best dishes attest to careful technique, like the lovingly fluffy housemade paneer that somehow melts and crumbles at once, and biryani under a lid sealed with a strip of dough, pried off with a knife at your table. Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pried
Verb
  • Reid pulled him aside both of the last two days for one-on-one conversations, presumably to discuss assignments and coverages.
    Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Kerkering then hit Alonso on an 0-2 count, and after Mayza entered, Henderson pulled his 2-1 sinker to the base of the right-center wall.
    CBS News, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Then we’re yanked into Louis’s hazy POV, from which Armand is reading another one of his apology letters.
    Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 20 July 2026
  • However, their anti-tank and anti-air systems failed to make a decisive difference after the Shah of Iran suddenly yanked out Iran’s decisive support from under them and cut a deal with Baghdad, crushing Kurdish morale in the process.
    Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • Charlotte Flair and Chelsea Green both qualified on television, Green over Kiana James and Flair over Nia Jax by disqualification after Jade Cargill interfered.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • One area where the government interfered rather aggressively in the economy concerned the rates and tariffs the railroads charged.
    Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • For example, experts estimate that some 2 million buildings in Florida will need to be lifted to avoid frequent flood damage, but so far, little has happened, and federal grants are being delayed.
    Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
  • Trend-right product across the portfolio lifted Steve Madden‘s second quarter earnings, and things are looking up for the rest of the year.
    Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 30 July 2026
Verb
  • As the air is extracted, the coffee grounds transition from a loose, flowing state into a rigid mass that molds itself around the object’s shape.
    Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 29 July 2026
  • Working with paleopathologists from the University of Pisa in Italy, the team analyzed DNA extracted from the ribs of Francesco I de' Medici, as well as Giovanni de' Medici, his younger brother who died of malaria 25 years earlier.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026
Verb
  • Offering a clever twist, the warm cake is poked with the handle of a wooden spoon, creating space for a vanilla-pineapple pudding to sink deep into the crumb.
    Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Let sit at room temperature until buns are puffed and expanded to edges of muffin cups (dough will spring back when poked but hold a slight indentation), 25–35 minutes.
    Claire Saffitz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • While Japanese firms historically prized proprietary systems, rivals achieve efficiency through extensive parts sharing and manufacturing innovations.
    Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • They are also prized for producing the world’s most expensive natural fiber—an exceptionally soft, lightweight wool that can only be harvested once every three years.
    Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • The clip, plucked out of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, spread like wildfire through the digital landscape.
    Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • His presentation for the pavilion consisted of a single work by the artist and former Olympic sailor Charles Lim Yi Yong, a twenty-foot-tall buoy that the artist plucked from the Singapore sea.
    News Desk, Artforum, 24 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Pried.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pried. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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