SMUGGLING Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

smuggling 1 of 2

noun

as in poaching

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smuggling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of smuggle

as in selling

to move (people or goods) from one country to another secretly and illegally They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.

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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 smuggling

Noun

Not a pushover but a practical-minded realist, the chef takes the punches, striking up a booze-smuggling deal with the Americans to keep the orphans living in his restaurant safe. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 Since the smuggling can’t be stopped or even slowed at this point, the main goal becomes saving as many animals as possible. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Virtually everyone on the reservation had been touched by the dark side of border smuggling. — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026 His administration believed that the partnership could both deliver economic benefits and ease the way for continental cooperation on foreign policy, the environment, immigration, and drug smuggling. — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026 The picture is a first-rate thriller about the investigation and crackdown of a heroin-smuggling operation, set mostly in New York, and scripted by Ernest Tidyman from the Robin Moore book. — Craig Fisher, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026 The Michigan Department of Corrections says officers at Baraga Correctional Facility stopped a drug smuggling plot involving several people, including inmates and a Muskegon woman. — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026 The panel noted that along with being a popular route for human smuggling, northern Haiti continues to feature in regional drug trafficking routes. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026 The indictment mentions evidence of the smuggling that took place in 2024, with Earthmade Computer buying dozens of high-end servers and shipping them overseas. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 2 Oct. 2026

Verb

When two brothers tried smuggling 635 turtles valued at more than $1 million, one was sentenced to a year in prison and a $15,000 fine, and the other to two concurrent year-and-a-day sentences with a $10,000 fine. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Then Sean moves away and grows up to become a spy who, after wrapping up a mission involving smuggling a nuclear warhead for reasons unknown, decides to pay an impromptu visit to his tweenage buddies. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 Sanon and several associates flew to Haiti from South Florida on a private jet, smuggling a handful of ballistic vests supplied by a Doral-area security company, prosecutors said. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026 With the goal of smuggling themselves to Turkey, the women are eventually found out for keeping a secret or two from the conspirators abetting their plan. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026 The brave and resourceful Alice escaped the Nazis, smuggling her grandchildren to safety in England. — Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026 Nia then persuades Tefa to join her in smuggling cell phones into the regional prison. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2026 At night, Axira leads a secret operation, smuggling the ruler’s Heartfillers — until one mistake results in her execution date, per the book’s synopsis. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 Nia persuades Tefa to join her in smuggling cellphones into the regional prison. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggling

Noun

The Cruz-Cantwell bill would tighten restrictions on athlete pay and transfers, bar in-season coach poaching, and dangle antitrust exemptions before Power Conference schools willing to pool media rights with smaller colleagues.

— Chris Park, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026
Too often, environmental advocates insist on the elimination of poaching, logging, and other harmful activities while remaining wholly unfamiliar with the factors at play that lead to predation, neglect, and abuse of nature.

— Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of poaching

Verb

In the first, a best-selling mystery author dies, and Benoit Blanc, a charismatic and inquisitive private eye played by Daniel Craig, must investigate.

— New York Times, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Wrigley View Rooftop was found to misappropriate by selling tickets to games and events at Wrigley Field, which exclusively belongs to the Cubs.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of selling

Noun

Bastos said the campaign will use the language of films and series to communicate the danger of piracy.

— Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Revenue was down significantly, as rampant digital piracy, coupled with the broader digital download era, had cratered album sales, and revival from the streaming era was still a half decade away.

— Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of piracy

Verb

Under the White House pool system, the networks -- ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC -- rotate responsibilities for gathering and distributing footage of the president's daily movements.

— Miriam Waldvogel, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
At a church in Pensacola where the United Cajun Navy was distributing supplies Sunday morning, a line of hundreds of cars stretched around the block.

— Sophie Bates, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of distributing

Noun

The next year Williams was charged in the Southern District of Iowa for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in the kidnapping case.

— Breaking News, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
Lavery pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, kidnapping and concealment of a body in 2022 and is serving up to 32 years in prison.

— Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of kidnapping

Verb

Griffith and management were never charged, and the three men accused of trafficking the runaway girl — and stealing her tips — were arrested.

— David Goodhue October 9, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
Because the measure removes all discretion that judges have to impose a nuanced prison sentence based on the facts of a case, opponents worry the blanket approach will result in punishing victims of trafficking.

— Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of trafficking

Noun

Historical context and origins Before the rise of the Mongol empire, trade across Eurasia along the Silk Road network was frequently disrupted by warfare, political fragmentation, heavy taxation, and banditry.

— Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
Robin quickly and viscerally dispatches his foe, before going up against a larger swath of enemies who are targeting his former partner-in-banditry Little John (played by Bill Skarsgård).

— David Sims, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026

Definition of banditry

Verb

Serhii Sternenko, who runs a foundation supplying drones to Ukrainian forces and previously served as an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, also reported the Starlink speed limits and later said the speeds were being limited even further.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
By 2045, the downstate Ameren area will need 8 gigawatts of batteries capable of supplying the grid for four hours to provide reliable service, consultants for the IPA and other state agencies said last month.

— John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of supplying

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smuggles

smuggling

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Style

“Smuggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggling. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of smuggling

noun

verb

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