1
as in stabbed
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
scorpions use their stinger-equipped tails to spike their prey
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in stimulated
to give life, vigor, or spirit to
he spiked what otherwise would have been a dry economic lecture with some jokes and anecdotes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiked
Matthew Lee, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2026
Tired of spiked gumballs in your yard?
—Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 4 Apr. 2026
ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
The blockade amounted to the largest oil-supply disruption in history, and oil prices spiked throughout March as a result.
—Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Adjective
Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.
—Matthew Lee, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2026
Tired of spiked gumballs in your yard?
—Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 4 Apr. 2026
Verb
Tensions spiked in 2016 when the government attempted to impose French in English-speaking regions’ schools and courts, igniting protests that security forces violently repressed.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
The blockade amounted to the largest oil-supply disruption in history, and oil prices spiked throughout March as a result.
—Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiked
Adjective
-
This will be a bumper quarter for oil and gas shareholders, who have always learned to stick it out through the doldrums for spikey periods like this.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
19 Mar. 2026
-
But a few things stick out as incorrect: The costume Diplo is wearing in the video does not match the actual, taller and spikier grassy costumes worn during the show.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Smith lived in Brownsville, less than a mile from where he was stabbed, according to cops.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Activist tied to Oprah, Biden stabbed in ambush, mom slain; suspect nabbed.—
,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When people spend long periods in activities that require very little mental effort, those pathways may not be stimulated in the same way.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The induced impact of our cast and crew spending along with the workers along the supply chain in turn stimulated even more economic growth.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But when classes resumed this week for the first time since the Iran war began, coiled barbed wire blocked the Palestinian siblings’ path to the village center.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Nyuyen’s compound was surrounded by a 12-ft wall of barbed wire and guard posts.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Cook County medical examiner’s office found that the fatal shot pierced Rivera’s skin near her left armpit and traveled through both her lungs, wedging itself in her ribs, autopsy records show.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The Teen Mom star shared a joint post on Instagram with her daughter Sophia after the teenager got ear gauges and her belly button pierced.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Hurricane formation can be inhibited by strong wind shear over the Atlantic, stirred by the pattern of warmer-than-normal waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Cups are poured with precision; milk and sugar are stirred with a silent spoon.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Victor Glover described peering at the long shadows of the lunar terminator through a telephoto lens and suddenly feeling transported down to that airless, forbidding landscape and imagining himself off-road driving among jagged peaks.—
Andrew Chaikin,
Space.com,
16 Apr. 2026
-
McMau maintains a level of jagged authenticity that implies there might well be a threat around every corner for both of his characters.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
At this time, the kernels are tender, fully developed, and produce a milky, sweet liquid when punctured.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The attack had punctured an air of invulnerability created by the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel had swiftly captured the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and Gaza from its Arab neighbors.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiked. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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