as in pilfering
Related Words
Relevance
as in stealing
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
the studio stepped up security, fearing that someone might attempt to purloin a copy of the script for the show's season finale
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purloining
Verb
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The mood shifted around midnight, when a guest lost her phone and began accusing others of stealing it, authorities said.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026 -
Two more people were arrested after allegedly stealing about $1 million in gold jewelry in the January smash-and-grab robbery of a Yuba City jewelry store, police said.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Stores increasingly use it to track customers suspected of shoplifting, entertainment venues deploy it during big events, and many cellphones give users the option to unlock their devices with an instantaneous face scan.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
6 Feb. 2026
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But Newsom was also an enthusiastic backer of Proposition 47, passed in 2014, which reclassified shoplifting offenses under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors, and also reduced charges for lower-level drug possession.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And one of those things is what the suspect in the kidnapping looks like.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
13 Feb. 2026
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More than a week after Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from her Arizona home in a possible kidnapping, law enforcement brought a man in for questioning before releasing him.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Purloining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purloining. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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