shanghai

verb

Definition of shanghainext
1
as in to capture

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in to deceive

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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 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 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
  1. capture
  2. deceive
  3. impress
  4. trick
  5. kidnap
  6. snow
  7. seize
  8. delude
Verb
  • Twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan capture their fourth straight major with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo at Wimbledon.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Surveillance cameras captured a person dressed in dark clothing on a nearby roof overlooking the courtyard less than ten minutes before the killing, prosecutors said in charging documents.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Definition of capture
Verb
  • Andreas Schjelderup opened the scoring with a spectacular cross-shot that deceived Jordan Pickford and, although Jude Bellingham struck back for England in first-half stoppage time, Norway looked the more likely winners as the second period wore on.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Only after this second handover did my father realize he had been deceived.
    — Ari Maas, New York Daily News, 11 July 2026
Definition of deceive
Verb
  • One year ago, forward Myron Gardner earned a two-way contract from the Miami Heat by impressing during summer league.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026
  • He was also impressed by her knowledge and passion for winemaking.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
Definition of impress
Verb
  • These fraudulent sites often mimic legitimate stores or rank high in search results, tricking desperate consumers into buying non-existent AC units.
    — Steve Weisman, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
  • The revenge story saw Tucker's exes convincing Snow's Kate to trick the ladies' man into falling in love with her.
    — Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026
Definition of trick
Verb
  • Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from West Africa as a child and brought to Boston aboard a slave ship.
    — Robin Follman, Oc Register, 4 July 2026
  • Her existential crisis is cut short when Sherlock Holmes is kidnapped, thrusting Enola into a new mystery set in Malta.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of kidnap
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of snow
Verb
  • Arthur Kaluma seized his Summer League moment in Las Vegas, scoring 34 points in the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026
  • And some have responded by seizing the female obsession with looks, already rooted in misogyny, and rebranding it with maximum toxicity—in other words, by becoming looksmaxxers.
    — Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
Definition of seize
Verb
  • 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
  • There’s no ability to delude oneself.
    — Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 31 May 2026
Definition of delude

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shanghai
shanghaied
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Cite this Entry

“Shanghai.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shanghai. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on shanghai

Nglish: Translation of shanghai for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shanghai

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