sapped 1 of 2

sapped

2 of 2

verb

past tense of sap

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 sapped
Verb
For many Americans, however, no deal will be enough to replace what the war has already sapped from their wallets. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 1 July 2026 Rising gas prices from the war in Iran have sapped potential investment money from American pocketbooks. Aly J Yale, CBS News, 11 June 2026 Little surprise that the pair explore the wider context of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup triumph, namely the military dictatorship that sapped national pride and heaped enormous pressure on a team — one who’d stunk up the tournament four years earlier — to restore it. Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 10 June 2026 But years of water use that outpaced the Colorado River’s shrinking flows have, over the past two decades, sapped the reservoir’s water stores and created an existential crisis for water managers across the basin, home to 40 million people. Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 7 June 2026 The energy that normally accompanies a race has been sapped. Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 23 May 2026 That sapped momentum from AI stocks worldwide on Tuesday. Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026 Because the jagged, shallow seabed near the fjord’s mouth acted like a speed bump that sapped the wave’s energy, people onboard the cruise ship came out of the event unscathed. Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 10 May 2026 The currency has rallied after sliding 4% in March as the Iran war sapped global risk sentiment. David Finnerty, Bloomberg, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sapped
Adjective
  • Still, the opposite tack—sanctions and isolation—has neither made the Iranian regime weaker nor made its behavior better.
    Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • And it should never be used to paper over weak management, chronic overload, or unresolved conflict.
    Rick Tollakson, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Verb
  • All three, the panel noted, have weakened or dropped earlier pledges to halt development on their own if certain red lines came into view, and in recent years softened their resistance to military uses.
    Harry Booth, Time, 7 July 2026
  • It is weakened by surprises, side channels, performative challenge and unclear authority.
    David Ribott, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Adjective
  • Lei's team propose that this glitch either strengthened or reoriented, or both, the magnetic field of the Blue Eye Pulsar sufficiently to trigger radio emissions, or at least make feeble radio waves that were already there detectable.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 July 2026
  • Gin up such a feeble procedural explanation for the sudden reversal that the entire sporting globe becomes incensed over the garbage-y scent of an inside job.
    Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
Verb
  • Clashes flared only to be tamped out; repercussions were softened, often comedically, as an outsider crashed the debate.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • Add the onion, green pepper, and celery, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
Verb
  • Base editing was used for the first time in a 2022 clinical trial to modify the immune cells of a UK teenager after doctors exhausted all other options to treat her form of leukemia.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
  • As a retired New Jersey State Trooper, Bob exhausted all of his law enforcement resources.
    Edie Peffley, NBC news, 8 July 2026
Verb
  • According to the nonprofit ReFED, about a quarter of all food products are wasted nationally.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 July 2026
  • While removing the screen and battery means some embodied carbon is still wasted, rescuing the board still represents a massive win for circularity.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Sapped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sapped. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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