as in ambushed
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise
a lonely stretch of highway along which unsuspecting tourists are often waylaid by gangs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waylaid
Still, plenty of players have had fast starts to their careers only to be waylaid by health issues or bizarre regressions.
—
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
McDonald had grown up attending church services, but decades of addiction and abuse had waylaid her.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
However, their celebratory moment was waylaid when a bumblebee set its sights on the actress.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
McDonald had grown up attending church services, but decades of addiction and abuse had waylaid her.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
However, their celebratory moment was waylaid when a bumblebee set its sights on the actress.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waylaid
Verb
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De’Andre Johnson ambushed and choked the agent in a DCS office, livestreaming the attack on Facebook.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The season will detail 10 different cases, including a Las Vegas journalist ambushed outside his residence, a body dumped in a NYC tunnel, and a mission to discover the identity of a victim found in the East River.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Tonges, who before Sunday’s game had never caught a regular-season pass, attacked the ball and gave San Francisco the lead.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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The occurrences grew more aggressive over time, with the Smurls' 75-pound German shepherd getting slammed into a wall and Jack getting attacked while praying.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Waylaid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waylaid. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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