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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in yanked
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in interfered
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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.
—
ABC News,
2 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
In what was billed an organizational coup, the Braves pried Chuck Tanner from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cox from the Jays.
—
Mark Bradley For The Ajc,
AJC.com,
9 May 2026
From there, one person held the blue heron still as the other carefully and forcefully pried the oyster's shells apart with a screwdriver.
—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
The burglars pried open a window to get into a room on the second floor.
—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
Kemp says everything was ransacked, doors were broken, drawers and cupboards pried open, and empty cash boxes were on display.
—
Alysia Burgio,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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.
—
ABC News,
2 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
In what was billed an organizational coup, the Braves pried Chuck Tanner from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cox from the Jays.
—
Mark Bradley For The Ajc,
AJC.com,
9 May 2026
From there, one person held the blue heron still as the other carefully and forcefully pried the oyster's shells apart with a screwdriver.
—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
The burglars pried open a window to get into a room on the second floor.
—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
Kemp says everything was ransacked, doors were broken, drawers and cupboards pried open, and empty cash boxes were on display.
—
Alysia Burgio,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pried
Verb
-
After the network successfully pulled together a motley crew of Real Housewives offspring and their Manhattan socialite friends last year, the gang is back for a second season in the city.
-
Arraez pulled a 1-1 curveball from the Athletics’ Aaron Civale off the top of his right foot and collapsed to the ground in pain.
Verb
-
Within days of its release, Anthropic’s most sophisticated public AI model was abruptly yanked from customers.
-
With two outs and a runner on, Sasaki yanked a splitter to the inside edge of the strike zone to Gunnar Henderson, who lifted it over the wall in right field.
Verb
-
But a thing called the Civil War interfered.
-
Bliss made a furious comeback before Michin interfered, leading to a four-woman brawl on the outside.
Verb
-
In April, the California Department of Motor Vehicles revised its regulations for autonomous vehicles and lifted a ban on autonomous trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more.
-
Scripted by David Koepp from Spielberg’s original story, Disclosure Day stars Josh O’Connor as Daniel Kellner, a cybersecurity expert who has lifted sensitive files about alien contact with the government.
Verb
-
Data was extracted from Action, the case management system used by prosecutors’ offices across the state, and shared by the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council.
-
The material was extracted from coal gangue, which is the ultra-hard, toxic rock waste left behind after mining and washing coal.
Verb
-
Griffin also poked at the cohosts in the immediate aftermath of Hasselbeck and former View moderator Rosie O'Donnell's legendary on-air fight in 2007, as Griffin was a guest host the following day and brought up the incident numerous times — which annoyed Walters in the moment.
-
Late in the third, the Knights seemed to retake the lead after Pavel Dorofeyev poked home a loose puck.
Verb
-
The aromatic white grape has become one of Spain's most successful exports, prized for its bright acidity, citrus flavors, and affinity for seafood.
-
That’s an ancient evolutionary adaptation to the color of the sky during the blue hour, that eggshell interval prized by artists.
Verb
-
Miami plucked a top prospect out of North Miami Beach on Sunday evening.
-
The charming restaurant serves hyper-local cuisine, with many ingredients plucked straight from the gardens.
Cite this Entry
“Pried.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pried. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
