as in attacked
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise
the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of ambushed
In 1935, Qassam and two of his followers ambushed a group of British Mandate policemen, murdering a Jewish sergeant.
—
Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
The Nationals ambushed Mazur to start the game.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Pusser said Pauline was shot and wounded on New Hope Road, then the couple was ambushed again, and she was shot and killed about three miles from the Mississippi border.
—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, 9 Sep. 2025
Leni Riefenstahl, the defiant figure, ambushed by questions about her Nazism on a talk show, is perhaps the most revealing footage in the film.
—Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
In February 2024, the suspect, Shannon Gooden, fatally ambushed a Burnsville firefighter and two police officers.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
De’Andre Johnson ambushed and choked the agent in a DCS office, livestreaming the attack on Facebook.
—Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2025
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
For nearly six decades, the public believed Buford and his wife were ambushed while responding to a disturbance.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
The Nationals ambushed Mazur to start the game.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Pusser said Pauline was shot and wounded on New Hope Road, then the couple was ambushed again, and she was shot and killed about three miles from the Mississippi border.
—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, 9 Sep. 2025
Leni Riefenstahl, the defiant figure, ambushed by questions about her Nazism on a talk show, is perhaps the most revealing footage in the film.
—Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
In February 2024, the suspect, Shannon Gooden, fatally ambushed a Burnsville firefighter and two police officers.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
De’Andre Johnson ambushed and choked the agent in a DCS office, livestreaming the attack on Facebook.
—Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2025
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
For nearly six decades, the public believed Buford and his wife were ambushed while responding to a disturbance.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambushed
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
Verb
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One of the women estimated that the singer assaulted her at least 23 times during her six years of employment at the musician's home.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Sep. 2025
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In 2020, Ellis claimed that the Grammy winner assaulted her outside of a Beverly Hills medical office in February 2018.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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McDonald had grown up attending church services, but decades of addiction and abuse had waylaid her.—
Jillian Steinhauer,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The battle was turbo-charged when Powell surprised markets with a 50 basis point inflation hike in September last year, seen by some as a gift to Trump’s Democratic Party election rival Kamala Harris.—
Billy Bambrough,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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The council’s resolution surprised me.—
Beth Lew-Williams,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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According to Arya, the index allows investors to track a very different opportunity than what is captured in major benchmarks.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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Lyles captured nearly three quarters of the vote, followed by Kim, who had about 21%.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ambushed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambushed. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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