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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All seems lost when a group of Stormtroopers ambushes the crew, but IG-11 heroically sacrifices himself to save them.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 May 2026
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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
Verb
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In a 1998 study published in Toxicon, researchers revealed that the inland taipan’s venom comprises a sophisticated mix of biologically active compounds, each of which attacks multiple physiological systems simultaneously.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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The bodycam footage shows Rivas swimming across the water before an alligator gives chase and attacks him.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waylays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waylays. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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