as in wandering
to commit an offense
our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow
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Recent Examples of straying
The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology.
—
ABC News, 12 May 2026
The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company's founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology.
—CBS News, 12 May 2026
But since then, OpenAI’s structure has shifted – and Musk, the richest man on earth, claims its executives and Microsoft have unjustly enriched themselves by straying from the company’s original charitable mission.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
The civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology.
—Michael Liedtke, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
The baby pudu, just a few inches tall, has already been spotted trotting confidently alongside Posey, rarely straying far from her side.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026
Ironically, an honest-to-goodness mummy movie consumed with exotica (the first one from 1932 was released in the wake of the global mania over King Tut’s tomb) makes a lot of sense right now, with America straying into foreign deserts.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Regularly dig up straying shoots and divide dense clumps every few years.
—Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 12 Apr. 2026
The filmmakers make an intentional decision to avoid actually sharing footage of Black deaths and anti-Black police violence on screen to avoid straying into morbid spectacle, which is a commendable ethical choice most non-Black filmmakers might not have made.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 12 May 2026
The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company's founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology.
—CBS News, 12 May 2026
But since then, OpenAI’s structure has shifted – and Musk, the richest man on earth, claims its executives and Microsoft have unjustly enriched themselves by straying from the company’s original charitable mission.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
The civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology.
—Michael Liedtke, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
The baby pudu, just a few inches tall, has already been spotted trotting confidently alongside Posey, rarely straying far from her side.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026
Ironically, an honest-to-goodness mummy movie consumed with exotica (the first one from 1932 was released in the wake of the global mania over King Tut’s tomb) makes a lot of sense right now, with America straying into foreign deserts.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Regularly dig up straying shoots and divide dense clumps every few years.
—Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 12 Apr. 2026
The filmmakers make an intentional decision to avoid actually sharing footage of Black deaths and anti-Black police violence on screen to avoid straying into morbid spectacle, which is a commendable ethical choice most non-Black filmmakers might not have made.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straying
Verb
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Again, no details, and fans' minds are wandering as far as this being an arena or battle royale mode, but that would be a little surprising.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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While strolling through Central Park in 1987, Honda spotted the artist wandering with no guards and an elderly woman by her side.—
Julius Miller
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Walking on private ground without permission is clearly trespassing in Montana.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
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Residents of the Pyramid Acres subdivision in southwest Tarrant County say landowner Nancy Rimmer has unlawfully blocked their access to Bear Creek, a navigable public waterway, by posting no-trespassing signs, installing surveillance cameras and hiring armed guards.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 May 2026
Verb
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The magnificent luminosity of the orbs announced their arrival, their glow falling unfamiliar against windowpanes, which drew the people to the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
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The mismatch between workers and available jobs—a key barometer of labor market stress—has actually improved since that moment, falling below its pre-pandemic level.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Straying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straying. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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