as in ambushes
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise
a lonely stretch of highway along which unsuspecting tourists are often waylaid by gangs
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Recent Examples of waylays
These are the chapters that feature the merry trickster of the forest, Tom Bombadil, a classic fiddle-dee-dee-mischief type who waylays the hobbits at the onset of their quest.
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Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waylays
Verb
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Thurman stars as The Bride, left for dead after her former boss and lover Bill ambushes her wedding rehearsal, shooting her in the head and stealing her unborn child.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
29 Nov. 2025
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In the finale, Aggie — who has already been on the run from the authorities after Nile framed her for the kidnapping and murder of Teddy Fenig — ambushes Nina at her gallery and tries to convince her that Nile killed Maddie and was also responsible for Teddy’s death.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The man attacks the woman with the hammer multiple times before stepping over her unmoving body and walking away out of the frame of the camera.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Apr. 2026
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She was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa — an eye disease that causes vision loss — and lupus, a disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy tissues and organs instead of fighting germs, according to court records.—
Chase Jordan
April 10,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waylays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waylays. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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