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
Investigators allege that Andrade and Rodriguez ambushed 6ix9ine’s mother at gunpoint in the garage of the rapper’s Wellington, Florida home.
—
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Feb. 2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan national in the leg after agents were allegedly ambushed and attacked with a shovel.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026
When their convoy is brutally ambushed, Amber is forced to put her life in Tibor’s hands.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
But when the Athena attempts to investigate a space anomaly, they are ambushed by Nus Braka and his gang.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
While refusing to fight for the Confederacy and trying to reach safety in Mexico, the group was ambushed by Confederate soldiers on horseback in the 1862 Battle of the Nueces, also called the Nueces massacre.
—Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 10 Jan. 2026
The Colorado Avalanche ambushed the Ottawa Senators’ goaltenders so badly Thursday night, the visitors signed a new one in the middle of the game.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 Jan. 2026
In another high-profile attack, suspects ambushed authorities at the Prairieland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 7 Jan. 2026
Last Saturday, an Islamic State infiltrator ambushed a meeting between American soldiers and their local counterparts in a Syrian desert town.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Feb. 2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan national in the leg after agents were allegedly ambushed and attacked with a shovel.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026
When their convoy is brutally ambushed, Amber is forced to put her life in Tibor’s hands.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
But when the Athena attempts to investigate a space anomaly, they are ambushed by Nus Braka and his gang.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
While refusing to fight for the Confederacy and trying to reach safety in Mexico, the group was ambushed by Confederate soldiers on horseback in the 1862 Battle of the Nueces, also called the Nueces massacre.
—Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 10 Jan. 2026
The Colorado Avalanche ambushed the Ottawa Senators’ goaltenders so badly Thursday night, the visitors signed a new one in the middle of the game.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 Jan. 2026
In another high-profile attack, suspects ambushed authorities at the Prairieland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 7 Jan. 2026
Last Saturday, an Islamic State infiltrator ambushed a meeting between American soldiers and their local counterparts in a Syrian desert town.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambushed
Verb
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The book's Japanese translator was murdered, and others associated with it were attacked.—
Anderson Cooper,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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Because as Bam Adebayo attacked a second-quarter offensive rebound with seemingly nothing but open air space toward the rim, teammate Kel’el Ware had similar thoughts of contesting that same carom of that Davion Mitchell errant attempt.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The charges stem from an incident in which Diggs allegedly assaulted the unnamed female employee over a paycheck dispute at his Dedham, Massachusetts, residence, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Enterprise, part of the USA TODAY Network.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
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Then, in 2012, a process server sued Hadder, claiming he was assaulted and wrongfully arrested while trying to serve a subpoena.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The decision came back to haunt the Braves, who were waylaid by injuries and underperformance and ultimately saw their streak of postseason berths end at seven.—
Ken Sugiura,
AJC.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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In addition, the multiple injuries have waylaid his development.—
Anthony Bettin,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Martin highlighted the findings, which mostly conformed to his expectations but still surprised him in the magnitude of the angst over the work situationship.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
11 Feb. 2026
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Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, which operates Gemini, said in a recent interview that he was surprised by OpenAI’s decision to monetize the chatbot through ads this early.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Without the fear of being captured mid-tear or mid-questionable dance moves, people are quicker to let their guards down and enjoy themselves fully.—
Nikita Khanna,
Vogue,
5 Feb. 2026
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Their work consisted of a neuromorphic sensor that captured the actions of Braille readers.—
Matthew S Williams,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ambushed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambushed. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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