as in spread
to cause to move outward and apart
He sat with his legs splayed apart. She splayed her fingers to show off her manicure.
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Recent Examples of splayed
As the footage continues, the pair falls out of sight behind the white sedan for about a minute before the sedan suddenly speeds away, revealing one man splayed across the ground as the gunman appears to straddle him.
—
Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
Isabelle hops, arms splayed upward, hits the water, and swims to Mom.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Jurors saw a photo of Saxon’s small mattress splayed on a bare concrete floor beside a case of bottled water and some Ensure protein drinks.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2026
Judges score the flips and spins, including pretzel-like shapes with skis splayed or crossed, before the skiers pull up at the last split second and slam skis-first into the landing area, kicking up a spray of snow.
—ABC News, 16 Feb. 2026
The entire western-facing wall of the house is glass—the valley and forest splayed out before us, in every shade of green imaginable.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2026
Also, there are no people and everything is compressed, as if a giant hand had come down from the sky and harmlessly splayed the three-dimensional world out into two, for easier viewing.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
During this particularly artsy weekend, more than 600 artists turn the streets of downtown Lake Worth Beach into a temporary open-air museum with larger-than-life chalk murals splayed across Lake and Lucerne Avenues.
—Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
Compacted into 137 bundles, that steel had to be meticulously splayed out in order to successfully loop around the roadbed, just before the Yerba Buena Tunnel.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
Isabelle hops, arms splayed upward, hits the water, and swims to Mom.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Jurors saw a photo of Saxon’s small mattress splayed on a bare concrete floor beside a case of bottled water and some Ensure protein drinks.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2026
Judges score the flips and spins, including pretzel-like shapes with skis splayed or crossed, before the skiers pull up at the last split second and slam skis-first into the landing area, kicking up a spray of snow.
—ABC News, 16 Feb. 2026
The entire western-facing wall of the house is glass—the valley and forest splayed out before us, in every shade of green imaginable.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2026
Also, there are no people and everything is compressed, as if a giant hand had come down from the sky and harmlessly splayed the three-dimensional world out into two, for easier viewing.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
During this particularly artsy weekend, more than 600 artists turn the streets of downtown Lake Worth Beach into a temporary open-air museum with larger-than-life chalk murals splayed across Lake and Lucerne Avenues.
—Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
Compacted into 137 bundles, that steel had to be meticulously splayed out in order to successfully loop around the roadbed, just before the Yerba Buena Tunnel.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splayed
Verb
-
Because this month’s layoffs are not confined to tech and spread across airlines, logistics, food production, healthcare, and more, the overall job market may be entering a recalibration period due to cost pressures and the rise of artificial intelligence.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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Starting Wednesday, videos and posters will be plastered in subways and public spaces, spreading awareness about the negative components of what can be a disturbing encounter.—
Allen Devlin,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Quinn struck out 11, walked five and scattered four hits for her third win of the season.—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
-
More than a dozen robots and creatures are scattered on a pink carpet.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The teams split two previous meetings, so the winner Monday wins the tiebreaker if the teams finish tie.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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Boise’s new professional soccer team is one week away from its first home game after splitting a pair of road contests.—
Statesman staff report,
Idaho Statesman,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Splayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splayed. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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