as in parted
to go or move in different directions from a central point
the road forks up ahead and you'll want to take the right fork
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Recent Examples of forked
Titian painted Saint Lawrence—a third-century church deacon who was slow-roasted for defying Roman authorities—bound to a palette over a sizzling fire, while a man thrusts a long, forked skewer into his torso.
—
Sebastian Smee,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2026
The company forked over $20 million in cash and voucher payments for consumers in the class-action suit and agreed to remove the terms from cereals that exceeded a certain sugar threshold.
—
Heather Bushman,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
On the walk back to the inn, Henry veered off the trail to pick up a fallen branch, gray and forked with one crisp leaf clinging obstinately on.
—
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
So much so that the Dallas Mavericks’ rising star forked over $7,000 at a memorabilia establishment for some Knueppel trading cards.
—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forked
Sebastian Smee,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2026
The company forked over $20 million in cash and voucher payments for consumers in the class-action suit and agreed to remove the terms from cereals that exceeded a certain sugar threshold.
—
Heather Bushman,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
On the walk back to the inn, Henry veered off the trail to pick up a fallen branch, gray and forked with one crisp leaf clinging obstinately on.
—
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
So much so that the Dallas Mavericks’ rising star forked over $7,000 at a memorabilia establishment for some Knueppel trading cards.
—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forked
Verb
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Your father strides into the dining room, harried, shiny black hair parted to one side, his fingers buttoning the cuffs of his starched white collared shirt.
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Her glam followed the same understated approach, with her signature raven hair worn long, straight, and center-parted.
Verb
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Where the sources diverged more meaningfully is in explaining why institutions haven’t intervened—and each offered a different piece of the puzzle.
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States controlled by Democrats and those led by Republicans have diverged in recent years over gun legislation, with some Republican states passing laws to relax firearm restrictions.
Verb
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In a place where many homes lean into glass, driftwood tones and a conventional layout, this one sprawls like a resort, with sleeping quarters separated into individual pavilion-like structures.
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While first stage successfully separated, the second stage engine did not get it into orbit.
Verb
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Congressional Republicans were divided over the Supreme Court’s Tuesday decision to strike down an executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
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Countless individual tread blocks, divided by wide grooves, wriggled around instead of digging in.
Cite this Entry
“Forked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forked. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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