propelled

verb

past tense of propel
1
as in pushed
to apply force to (someone or something) so that it moves in front of one playfully he propelled his rambunctious friend into the swimming pool to cool off

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in drove
to set or keep in motion the aircraft is propelled by a pair of turboprop engines

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 propelled The big waves are being fueled by the energy produced by Marie, and propelled by an elevated sea level due to warming ocean waters, according to Swain. — Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Walker is a 6-foot-7, 331-pound mauler, his oversized frame propelled by a relentless engine. — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026 The man was propelled into the outside lane and struck by the undercarriage of a second vehicle, a 2013 Nissan Cube driven by a 47-year-old Orlando man. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2026 Masterson’s campaign says the Kansas Senate president is still proud of the endorsement that propelled him to a dominant win in August’s Republican primary. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2026 That performance propelled the film’s cumulative gross to $981,195. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026 Outrage at Taney’s power grab filled the sails of the antislavery Republican Party and ultimately propelled Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 Parton was born one of 12 children in a small town in Tennessee and propelled herself to become one of the world's most successful entertainers, releasing 50 albums and winning 11 Grammy Awards. — ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026 The lack of quit in Jordan propelled her to the victory and launched her first title reign as NXT women’s champion. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for propelled
  1. pushed
  2. drove
  3. shoved
  4. moved
  5. thrust
  6. activated
  7. impelled
Verb
  • Delays in testing and qualifying Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine and an explosion of the rocket’s Centaur upper stage during a ground test in 2023 eventually pushed Vulcan’s first test flight into early 2024.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
  • That is why Connelly pushed so hard to convince Kuminga that taking roughly half as much money as other teams were offering was the right move.
    — Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of pushed
Verb
  • On a late October night in 2018, Andrew Luck drove home after a miserable Sunday afternoon.
    — Doug Haller, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Listed as co-defendants are Josh Marshall and Robert Morgenroth, Burke’s managers; their company, Mogul Vision; and Burke’s live-in security guard, who the suit alleges drove him to pick up Celeste from her parents’ home in 2024.
    — Madeline Morrison, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of drove
Verb
  • A week after the big score, Chetal's parents were driving in Danbury, Connecticut, when several masked men cut them off, forced them out of their new car, beat Chetal's father with a baseball bat, shoved the couple into a van and bound their hands.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
  • A week after the big score, Chetal’s parents were driving in Danbury, Connecticut, when several masked men cut them off, forced them out of their new car, beat Chetal’s father with a baseball bat, shoved the couple into a van and bound their hands.
    — Michael Kunzelman, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of shoved
Verb
  • Michigan was 80 yards from the end zone with 10 seconds remaining and hadn’t moved the ball at all since its first drive.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Had moved from my very small town in northern Va to the big city of Richmond to begin my new career as a management trainee with a local bank at the princely sum of $11,000 per year at age 22.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of moved
Verb
  • Director James Marcus Haney crafts a propulsive portrait of Ukrainian youth living on a knife’s edge, denied the certainty of a future in a brutal war of aggression thrust upon them by Russia.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Born in Kansas City on March 30 at Children’s Mercy Hospital, Drajten, at 8 pounds, entered the world with a hole in his diaphragm, one that caused his stomach to be thrust up near his lungs, pushing his tiny heart to one side.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of thrust
Verb
  • Smith said when the Dodgers activated him at the beginning of the month.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The baseline battery life for AirPods 5 enables up to five hours of playback with active noise cancellation activated on a single charge, which exceeds the older AirPods model by one hour.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of activated
Verb
  • Some fifteen years later, her determination to study Schubert lieder with expert teachers was in large part what impelled her to go to Europe.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Despite the challenges, many candidates are impelled by the desire to steer political discourse toward civility and issues that matter most to ordinary citizens.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of impelled

Browse Nearby Words

propellants
propelled
propelling
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Cite this Entry

“Propelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/propelled. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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