as in piercing
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
transfixed the inanimate butterfly specimens to the collection board
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Recent Examples of transfixing
Brazen, physical, able to do more with one (yes) intense gesture than with reams of dialogue, his Bullseye is transfixing.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for transfixing
Verb
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The piercing sunlight frightens her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
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With blond horizontal stripes dyed in her dark brown hair, bold black eyeliner and the smiley lip piercing, Liu has cut an alternative path to the top of a sport that long valued a specific kind of femininity.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Jones, of Joliet, said his testimony helped convict Joseph Czuba, a Plainfield landlord who was found guilty last year in the stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, a Palestinian American boy who was targeted because of his race and religion.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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Three of the stabbing victims were dead at the scene and another died while being taken to a hospital.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The tree was left in pieces, with one portion puncturing the roof of the school and another crushing a fence.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
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Testing is also challenging, as finding a leak requires puncturing the spinal canal, which can create new leaks.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Mourinho shot off down the touchline, fingers jabbing the air, hugging a ballboy in jubilation.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Though none of the celebrity moms in question have publicly spoken about the drama, earlier this week, Koma, whom has also produced several of Duff's songs in the past, shared a meme to his Instagram Story jabbing Tisdale French's piece in The Cut.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Of course, if money is no object, picking a luxury SUV could be surprisingly challenging.—
Morgan Korn,
ABC News,
22 Feb. 2026
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Use Liquid Herbicide When picking a post-emergent herbicide, Cuoco recommends looking for a liquid form that can be sprayed directly onto problem areas.—
Nishaa Sharma,
The Spruce,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Instead of skittering off, the hot droplets start sticking and seeping into the surface texture, and leave wet patches behind.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
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These additions can help keep food from sticking and make cleanup a lot easier.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Transfixing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transfixing. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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