as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
stray sightings of UFO's, none of which have been rigorously analyzed by scientists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to trespass
to commit an offense
our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stray
Carole Wendt, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
The remainder has a few stray lines, marks, and smudges.
—Michael Bracewell, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
Daniel Taylor, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
As Taylor, the Nez Perce Tribe’s watershed division director, looked on and the pair pushed against the current to spawn, his thoughts strayed elsewhere in the same watershed.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stray
Adjective
That frightened stray kitten forgot her fears and moved up on that ball of paper and batted it across the floor and then batted it again.
—Carole Wendt, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
The remainder has a few stray lines, marks, and smudges.
—Michael Bracewell, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
Verb
And then there were the signings who, without wishing to be cruel, strayed dangerously close to being acts of desperation.
—Daniel Taylor, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
As Taylor, the Nez Perce Tribe’s watershed division director, looked on and the pair pushed against the current to spawn, his thoughts strayed elsewhere in the same watershed.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stray
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stray
Adjective
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In the early 20th century, physicists wanted to study Brownian motion, the random movement of particles in a liquid or gas.—
Solomon Adams,
WIRED,
23 Feb. 2025
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While there are countless wormholes to be dragged into on a player’s Baseball Reference page, many of them can be pushed aside with the explanation that the reasoning for a level of success (or lack thereof) is due to the sample size making those results random.—
Tyler Small,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But since the day before, one trespassing man would not stop.—
Josh Wood,
The Courier-Journal,
18 Feb. 2025
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Mainstream media outlets, which ordinarily wouldn’t care about a trespassing deer hunter, fixated on the Porta-Potty part and ran with it.—
Phil Bourjaily,
Outdoor Life,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Thirty years earlier, in 1995, on the weekend before Quebec’s second referendum on independence, my family and I went to Montreal to wander the city, to try to sense what Quebeckers were feeling, but mostly just to be there.—
Ken Dryden,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2025
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Keep an eye out for chachalaca, green jays, Altamira orioles, and the occasional rare avian visitor that wanders in from faraway.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Anyone who’s ever thrown a pitch or swung a bat knows that the umpire decides in the end — and those decisions have felt arbitrary and highly personal at times.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
23 Feb. 2025
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Misinformation surrounding the new law has led to a resurgence of the narrative that white South Africans—especially farmers—are facing an orchestrated campaign of genocide through arbitrary land grabs.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Good news for green energy The cost of a utility-scale solar panels has fallen 82% since 2010, according to the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA TODAY,
16 Feb. 2025
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Just like this claim, the others will fall apart because there is no truth to them.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
15 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stray.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stray. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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