as in stole
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
the studio stepped up security, fearing that someone might attempt to purloin a copy of the script for the show's season finale
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Recent Examples of purloined
Your duty to intervene increases with the value of the object and the likelihood it will be purloined.
—
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purloined
Verb
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Thieves stole $40,000 worth of handmade puppets, props and merchandise from outside a Hollywood Hills home.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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On March 18, 1990, two men posing as police officers stole 13 artworks valued at over $500 million from the museum in what is considered the largest unsolved art heist in modern history.—
Joe Dwinell,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Kempe was able to play it off of his skate and swiped it past Vladar to open the scoring.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Over the last four seasons, Bader has swiped 65 bases and posted 85th percentile sprint speed last season.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purloined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purloined. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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