purloined

past tense of purloin

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 purloined In November 1913, Los Angeles rejoiced to welcome a lavish, steady [and more or less purloined] flow of water. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026 Sanft characterized Kading as an unethical former cop who purloined a recording of the confidential proffer for profit. — John L. Smith, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026 The thieves also purloined a small double-sided painting, with the Virgin and Child on one side and Christ on the other, that the Sicilian regional government had bought from the auction house Christie's back in 2003. — Willem Marx, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026 In 2017, administrators at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh were heartbroken to learn that hundreds of rare books, art prints and maps worth more than $8 million had been purloined from its rare books room. — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 15 July 2026 The world press was less restrained; the Post, the Daily Mail, the Hindustan Times, and many others ran screaming headlines, accompanied by photographs of the climbers purloined from social media. — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purloined
Verb
  • Thieves stole six bronze sculptures by Peter Gehring valued at over €100,000 ($114,000) from the garden of a museum near Munich.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In late August, a 24-year-old man allegedly stole a Cessna 172 from an airport in Hungary while intoxicated and flew toward the area of the country’s only nuclear power plant.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • To finish off Russell’s eye makeup, Turnbow swiped on Armani’s Vertigo Lift Lengthening Mascara, which created defined, long lashes that contrasted beautifully against the smoky brown shadows.
    — Anna Traver, InStyle, 21 Sep. 2026
  • State investigators say thieves have been using sophisticated skimming devices all across Philadelphia to steal EBT card information once it's been swiped.
    — Liz Crawford, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Purloined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purloined. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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