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
Medora Lee, USA Today, 12 Mar. 2026
This hyaluronic acid—spiked formula offers smooth, seamless coverage.
—Taryn Brooke, Glamour, 6 Mar. 2026
Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
Heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel prices, also spiked 8% on Thursday afternoon.
—Steve Kopack, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Adjective
Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for a fifth of the world’s oil shipments, spiked oil prices past the key $100 per barrel level.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 12 Mar. 2026
This hyaluronic acid—spiked formula offers smooth, seamless coverage.
—Taryn Brooke, Glamour, 6 Mar. 2026
Verb
The attacks – which are increasingly described as Jewish terrorism by Israeli human rights activists and journalists – have spiked again in recent weeks amid the war with Iran, which has consumed public attention.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
Heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel prices, also spiked 8% on Thursday afternoon.
—Steve Kopack, NBC news, 26 Mar. 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
-
Muhammad later returned to the restaurant with a knife and mask and allegedly stabbed Harris, according to police.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Taylor was fatally stabbed in 2000 in a stairwell in Peckham, South East London, just metres from his home.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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Olson eventually found a substance that did not seem to be hallucinogenic but potently stimulated growth in the cortical neurons of rodents.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Page used barbed wire wrapped around a chair to bust MJF open and hit a Deadeye through a table.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Have Faith Haiti, with its 30-foot-tall walls, barbed wire and guard towers, looks like a prison from the outside.—
Denise Schrier Cetta,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The bullet that struck McKay passed through his arm, pierced his torso and struck his heart inside the Key Gardens burger joint, on Metropolitan Ave.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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When mixture returns to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook potatoes until they can be pierced with a fork but do not fall apart, about 10 minutes.—
C.W. Cameron,
AJC.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The prewar decline in mortgage rates stirred hopes of a robust spring selling season.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Plato briefly stirred to life to announce that there had never been such a thing as a Department of Education, then shut back down.—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But in the early 19th century, mathematicians started to encounter phenomena — infinite sums and strange, jagged curves, for instance — that defied their intuition for what was possible.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
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Photos and video show the explorers squeezing through jagged crevices deep inside the karsts, using flashlights to guide them further along an otherwise pitch-black maze of rocky burrows.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Black used the hatchet to damage the vehicle and punctured the tires with a knife, documents said.—
Ray Stern,
AZCentral.com,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Beckett’s patter of repetitions and reversals—as the tape is rewound, replayed, and punctured by Krapp’s speech in the present—resembles Lerner’s technique.—
Hannah Gold,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiked. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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