STRAYING Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words

straying

verb

present participle of stray

as in wandering

to commit an offense our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of straying Some of those losses stemmed from carelessness, with his supreme confidence occasionally straying into casualness. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 22 July 2026 Although Martha’s thoughts are clouded by her desire to undo Anne’s condition, her section also abides by the terms of realism, never straying too far from what could be considered ordinary life. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026 Hundreds of wild horses straying outside a swath of territory spanning California and Nevada are set to be rounded up starting Wednesday, July 8. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 8 July 2026 About 50 yards below me a water fence is built out into the river to keep cattle from straying. — Ralph Tuttle, Outdoor Life, 25 June 2026 This is a commonsense safety upgrade that would enable drivers to tether their horses and prevent them from straying. — Lisa Rozner, CBS News, 22 June 2026 Over the decades the O’odham placed some barbed wire along the border to keep livestock from straying into the neighboring country, limiting the spread of maladies such as foot-and-mouth disease and hindering cattle thieves. — Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 20 June 2026 The incursion underscores a growing pattern of Russian and Ukrainian drones straying into Eastern Europe, raising questions about air defenses as NATO and EU leaders condemn Moscow and weigh further sanctions. — Stephen McGrath, Los Angeles Times, 29 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. — ABC News, 11 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for straying

Verb

The animal dragged the bag across the course before wandering off, leaving the golfers with a story that’s sure to be a hole-in-one at the clubhouse.

— Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 17 July 2026
Following in the wasteland-wandering footsteps of its successful Fallout series, Amazon Prime is tripling down on live-action game adaptations.

— Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026

Definition of wandering

Verb

The company sued him for trespassing on its vacant property next to his home.

— Jena Brooker, ProPublica, 6 July 2026
Instead of Cady as rapist, Cape Fear seems to be going for a general theme of Cady as violator, someone who is trespassing not singularly on a female body but on the Bowdens’ trustworthiness.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026

Definition of trespassing

Verb

Buzzy semiconductor stocks that surged earlier this year have struggled to maintain their momentum, with the popular iShares Semiconductor index falling nearly 20% from its early-June peak.

— Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
That surpasses the original Galaxy Watch Ultra's 590mAh cell, which lasted 46 hours in my testing with the always-on display enabled, again falling just short of the company’s estimate (48 hours).

— Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 22 July 2026