as in contraband
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in sold
to move (people or goods) from one country to another secretly and illegally
They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 smuggled
Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Lang calls Atterton, who’s in his prison cell with a smuggled phone, to tell him the job is done and that both Bailey-Brown and Sam have been terminated.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 4 Mar. 2026
Writs of assistance were open‑ended search warrants granted to British customs officers to search for smuggled goods; they were not limited by time, person, or location, and no probable cause was required.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The smuggled fungus, Fusarium graminearum, can cause billions in crop losses and is harmful to humans and livestock.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Laboratory tests of smuggled samples taken from late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned when he was imprisoned in a Siberian penal colony, his widow Yulia Navalnaya has said.
—Anna Chernova, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
Inevitably, a few students were surreptitiously checking smuggled screens that day.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 11 June 2026
Leo is spending the final two days of his weeklong trip to Spain in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula that is a key point of entry for migrants smuggled from West Africa.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
From the moment Lawrence had the first edition privately printed in Italy, American and British authorities confiscated copies that had been smuggled across their borders and secretly read the novel for pleasure.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 3 June 2026
The fight for control of the drug trade has led to an explosion of violence, particularly around the port cities of Guayaquil and Manta, through which much of the drugs are smuggled.
—CBS News, 3 June 2026
From January 2016 to February 2022, Jose Manuel Perez and his co-conspirators smuggled at least 1,700 reptiles into the United States from Mexico, Hong Kong and elsewhere, without the proper permits or declaring them at border crossings.
—Drew Pittock, USA Today, 30 May 2026
The animals smuggled from Mexico were advertised on social media, with defendants posting photos and videos of the reptiles being captured in the wild.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
And in May 2020, with the help of sniffer dogs, Russian customs seized 70 tons of contraband European cheeses that were being smuggled into the country.
—Olivia Potts, Longreads, 28 May 2026
That night, she’s smuggled to some maritime border, where June waits to take her home.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Adjective
The smuggled animals, which were imported from both Hong Kong and Mexico without permits, included Mexican beaded lizards, Mexican box turtles and Yucatan box turtles and baby crocodiles, prosecutors said.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Lang calls Atterton, who’s in his prison cell with a smuggled phone, to tell him the job is done and that both Bailey-Brown and Sam have been terminated.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 4 Mar. 2026
Writs of assistance were open‑ended search warrants granted to British customs officers to search for smuggled goods; they were not limited by time, person, or location, and no probable cause was required.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The smuggled fungus, Fusarium graminearum, can cause billions in crop losses and is harmful to humans and livestock.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Laboratory tests of smuggled samples taken from late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned when he was imprisoned in a Siberian penal colony, his widow Yulia Navalnaya has said.
—Anna Chernova, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
Inevitably, a few students were surreptitiously checking smuggled screens that day.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
In 1981 the piece was smuggled out of Cambodia and into New York by Doris Wiener.
—Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 11 June 2026
Leo is spending the final two days of his weeklong trip to Spain in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula that is a key point of entry for migrants smuggled from West Africa.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
From the moment Lawrence had the first edition privately printed in Italy, American and British authorities confiscated copies that had been smuggled across their borders and secretly read the novel for pleasure.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 3 June 2026
The fight for control of the drug trade has led to an explosion of violence, particularly around the port cities of Guayaquil and Manta, through which much of the drugs are smuggled.
—CBS News, 3 June 2026
From January 2016 to February 2022, Jose Manuel Perez and his co-conspirators smuggled at least 1,700 reptiles into the United States from Mexico, Hong Kong and elsewhere, without the proper permits or declaring them at border crossings.
—Drew Pittock, USA Today, 30 May 2026
The animals smuggled from Mexico were advertised on social media, with defendants posting photos and videos of the reptiles being captured in the wild.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
And in May 2020, with the help of sniffer dogs, Russian customs seized 70 tons of contraband European cheeses that were being smuggled into the country.
—Olivia Potts, Longreads, 28 May 2026
That night, she’s smuggled to some maritime border, where June waits to take her home.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggled
Adjective
-
The Australian government announced a recent contraband haul that would make most peoples' skin crawl.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
-
That encounter led to The Alabama Solution, a documentary that uses footage shot on contraband cell phones to expose allegedly inhumane conditions inside Alabama's prison system.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Up to 13,000 grapevine plants potentially infected by the bacteria have been sold across a total of 24 Northern and Central California counties, the CDFA said.—
Seamus Bozeman
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
Bernardo Silva, for instance, made one appearance for Benfica before being sold to Monaco.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
More than 60 local, county and state law enforcement agencies in places where the games will be held recently completed a first-of-its-kind federal training program to help detect and deter the unauthorized presence of drones near World Cup sites and related fan events.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
12 June 2026
-
The payment network has faced years of scrutiny over fraud and unauthorized transfers, including a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in December 2024.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
It is also being distributed internationally and has been translated into French, Spanish, German and three Greenlandic dialects.—
Tarini Mehta,
Sacbee.com,
9 June 2026
-
The awards celebrate the independent music business, and some 38 awards were distributed throughout the evening, with hometown heroes Geese and French electronic musician Oklou taking home record of the year and pop record of the year, respectively, among multiple wins.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Machado faces dozens of charges, including seven counts of murder, four counts of possession of an unlicensed assault weapon and multiple charges related to the possession of explosives.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
4 June 2026
-
Under the measure, unlicensed cannabis businesses would become subject to gross receipt taxes ranging from 1% to 10%, depending on the type of business activity.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
The investigation found that the battery technology came from the German company CT Coatings, which supplied it to Nordic Nano and Donut Lab.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
9 June 2026
-
Until recently, the world was relatively well cushioned against a negative oil supply shock because global inventories were well supplied.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
This summer, an FDA advisory committee will consider allowing pharmacies to compound and sell seven unapproved peptides, including BPC-157.—
Sara Talpos — Undark,
STAT,
1 June 2026
-
Hundreds, if not thousands, of clinics now market unapproved procedures for everything from common sports injuries to neurological diseases.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Amid the charm offensive, Bankman-Fried even conducted an unsanctioned interview with conservative TV host Tucker Carlson from prison in March 2025.—
Camila Grigera Naon,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
-
When an employee deployed an unsanctioned file-sharing application a decade ago, the primary risk was data exposure.—
Emil Sayegh,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smuggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggled. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
