as in pilfering
Related Words
Relevance
as in stealing
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purloining
Verb
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Since first taking place in the 1940s, cloud seeding experiments have raised concern over potential environmental and ecological risks and stoked regional security tensions, with countries accusing each other of stealing rain.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026 -
On June 16, 1986, Langford was selling some of the last of her inventory when a crack addict named Melvin Trotter walked into Langford's Grocery Store and started stealing from the cash register.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Stores increasingly use it to track customers suspected of shoplifting, entertainment venues deploy it during big events, and many cellphones give users the option to unlock their devices with an instantaneous face scan.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
6 Feb. 2026
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But Newsom was also an enthusiastic backer of Proposition 47, passed in 2014, which reclassified shoplifting offenses under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors, and also reduced charges for lower-level drug possession.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Investigators have had glimpses of vehicles from various cameras but, as yet, have not associated a particular vehicle to Guthrie's kidnapping, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Twenty-four hours after the kidnapping, the community held a prayer vigil, and pictures of Morgan were posted on the doors of seemingly every store and restaurant and on utility poles, The Courier Journal reported.—
Monroe Trombly,
Louisville Courier Journal,
27 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Purloining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purloining. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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