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as in to deceive
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shanghai
They’re shanghaied by Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes), basically evil but also adorable, to Living Island — the witch wants Freddy — where trees walk and objects talk and the mayor is the title character, a friendly dragon.
—
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023
Some historians believe, as The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported, that the tunnels weren’t actually used to shanghai -- that is, abduct men and force them to join a ship’s crew.
—oregonlive, 26 Mar. 2020
The musical comedy is filled with zany pirates, zombie ships, mermaids and the plot revolves around a bumbling actor and his crew getting shanghaied by the terror of the high seas.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2019
To shanghai your wife into a mental health intervention would be a mistake.
—Y Jeanne Phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2018
That prompts the secretly protective Madea to shanghai Joe and the equally outrageous old-timers Hattie (Patrice Lovely) and Bam (Cassi Davis) for a trip to the lake to bring Tiffany back.
—Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 20 Oct. 2017
The ways in which our attention gets shanghaied by these companies makes us less good as citizens.
—Isaac Chotiner, Slate Magazine, 5 Oct. 2017
The idea of a summertime art festival has been shanghaied by the nonprofit Art Shanty Project.
—Bob Shaw, Twin Cities, 6 Jan. 2017
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023
Some historians believe, as The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported, that the tunnels weren’t actually used to shanghai -- that is, abduct men and force them to join a ship’s crew.
—oregonlive, 26 Mar. 2020
The musical comedy is filled with zany pirates, zombie ships, mermaids and the plot revolves around a bumbling actor and his crew getting shanghaied by the terror of the high seas.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2019
To shanghai your wife into a mental health intervention would be a mistake.
—Y Jeanne Phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2018
That prompts the secretly protective Madea to shanghai Joe and the equally outrageous old-timers Hattie (Patrice Lovely) and Bam (Cassi Davis) for a trip to the lake to bring Tiffany back.
—Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 20 Oct. 2017
The ways in which our attention gets shanghaied by these companies makes us less good as citizens.
—Isaac Chotiner, Slate Magazine, 5 Oct. 2017
The idea of a summertime art festival has been shanghaied by the nonprofit Art Shanty Project.
—Bob Shaw, Twin Cities, 6 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shanghai
Verb
-
As part of our Language of Soccer World Cup series, The Athletic is speaking to supporters of all 48 nations competing at the 2026 edition to capture their unique football culture, distilled into a single phrase.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
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The places featured here, selected by local editors, highlight just some of the landmarks and destinations that capture the region’s significance as the nation marks 250 years.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Verb
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He was also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condo deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.—
Jay Weaver
June 6,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
-
The Allies went to extraordinary lengths to deceive the enemy, suggesting that the attack would focus on the Pas-de-Calais, the narrowest point of the English Channel.—
Kevin Maurer,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
Verb
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The original, penned by Robin Schiff and directed by David Mirkin, cast Sorvino and Kudrow as Romy and Michele, two inseparable airheads who hit the road to attend their 10th high school reunion with a plan to lie about their successful careers to impress their classmates.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
8 June 2026
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The bumblebee continues to impress him.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
7 June 2026
Verb
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Mailings of replacement cards began in March — and around that time, warnings went out that scammers might take advantage of the change to trick people into handing over personal information.—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
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Parents aren’t trying to trick kids into eating vegetables.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Charlotte Observer,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Last month, a Santa Monica man, also unaffiliated with the university, was charged with kidnapping a female UCLA student in March to try to rape her.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
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Norm Green kidnaps our former hockey team to Texas, a place where ice is exclusively used to chill Lone Stars.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
Verb
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There are songs for each segment, which include Goofy cleaning up, a dark turn with Daisy in a power outage and snowed-in Pluto.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 May 2026
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The food is rustic and cosmopolitan at once — bright, monumental salads, whole carrots and leeks baptized by fire, skeins of pasta, and Parmigiano snowing down — but the secret is the seeming effortlessness.—
Ligaya Mishan,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Verb
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In April, Ukraine actually took back more land than Russia seized for the first time since 2024.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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Metcalf's father has condemned those who have seized on the race of the teenagers after the killing.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 June 2026
Verb
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This might not be a circumstance where the AI would shine in aiding the mental health of the user (or, on the other side of the coin, deluding them and entrapping them).—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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There’s no ability to delude oneself.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shanghai.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shanghai. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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