sponged

past tense of sponge
1
as in drank
to take in (something liquid) through small openings the ground quickly sponged up the much-needed rain

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2
as in begged
to live by relying on someone else's generosity or hospitality without sharing in the cost or responsibility she's been sponging off of her friends while she tries to land an entry-level job on Wall Street

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sponged
Verb
  • Three years later, censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy drank himself to death, a broken man at the age of 48.
    Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2026
  • On the day of the murders, he was said to have drank more than a quart of vodka.
    Dan Sullivan, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 July 2026
Verb
  • Odysseus, still under disguise, begged for food from the suitors at dinner that night.
    Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
  • At one point, Guinness begged director George Lucas to kill off Obi-Wan.
    Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026
Verb
  • Now my own messy, inconvenient story had been absorbed and neutralized.
    Claire Stapleton, New Yorker, 18 July 2026
  • The glacial beats and the near-silent raps full of heartbreak and drugs are best absorbed through headphones.
    Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 July 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Sponged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sponged. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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