SMUGGLING Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

smuggling 1 of 2

noun

as in poaching

Related Words

Relevance

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.

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 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

The owner of a San Gabriel Valley technology company was arrested Thursday after federal prosecutors charged him with smuggling more than $300 million of restricted computer hardware to China. — Los Angeles Times, 2 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 Attackers can capitalize on the predilection by smuggling harmful instructions into emails or webpages the assistant is instructed to summarize. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 20 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

Many advisors also aim to reduce your lifetime tax bill with such strategies as selling profitable assets during your lower income years.

— Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,Kelli Grant, CFP®, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Fremantle, which has a first-look deal with Me+You, is selling the show globally.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of selling

Noun

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
Jamal, who co-founded the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, which helps immigrants find pro bono attorneys, also helped retain a lawyer for the Somali teenager charged with piracy in the infamous Captain Richard Phillips hostage-taking.

— Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 5 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

Each of the six main suspects get their chance to give their version of events on the day of Jodie’s death, effectively supplying their own alibis.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
That included voluntarily supplying law enforcement with lists of disgruntled current and former employees, and of the names of dissatisfied customers.

— Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of supplying

Browse Nearby Words

smuggles

smuggling

smugness

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Smuggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggling. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of smuggling

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

outlandish

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes