as in to backfire
to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect
the well-meaning gesture boomeranged, since he ended up being offended by it
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Recent Examples of boomerang
The most blatant of those on Sunday was Kelce converting a great opportunity into a play that boomeranged the other way.
—
Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for boomerang
Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for boomerang
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomerang
Verb
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The instinct to simply ban unapproved AI may backfire, driving usage further underground.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Reliever Daniel Bard’s contract extension also backfired on Schmidt.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Klamath tribes, for instance, have passed down a story about the creation of Oregon’s Crater Lake, formed about 7,700 years ago, after Mount Mazama erupted and collapsed into itself.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
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And if the environment collapses; communities cannot thrive either.—
Christopher Marquis,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Between 1958 and 1978, 30 of the low-budget comedies were churned out (a revival in 1992 flopped), attracting millions of viewers worldwide.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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The strategy created momentum, but Llama 4 flopped when it was released in early April 2025—at which point, Pineau had already submitted her resignation.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boomerang.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomerang. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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