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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Loud Sound Reduction is another nice-to-have perk carried over from the AirPods Pro series, letting the headphones reduce the severity of sirens, construction and other ear-piercing sounds.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
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When a medic advised him that the cut would need stitches, Green suggested piercing the bandage up with a stud — or, alternatively, throwing some Elmer’s glue on it.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After Jalloh started shooting, multiple students attacked him, with one of them stabbing him, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News.—
Tom Winter,
NBC news,
13 Mar. 2026
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He was first convicted of manslaughter in 1974 for reportedly stabbing his stepfather to death in Sydney.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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According to a February 2025 indictment, the five soldiers beat the man, dragging him across the floor, stepping on his body, breaking his ribs and puncturing a lung.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
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Conviction in the Gulf as a future global hub for AI infrastructure is facing its first stress test with Iranian strikes puncturing the region’s image as a haven for computing power.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 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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Winds will lull overnight, Sunday into Monday, before picking back up again on Monday morning.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
15 Mar. 2026
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But like Cornbread, his father hails from Mississippi and grew up picking cotton.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Apply a thin layer around the door frame to keep dust from sticking and building up there.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2026
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One of those at Nottingham Forest’s Europa League defeat to Midtjylland last night seized the moment by turning to the camera and sticking his fingers in his ears (above).—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Transfixing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transfixing. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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