SMUGGLING Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

smuggling 1 of 2

noun

as in poaching

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smuggling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of smuggle

as in selling

to move (people or goods) from one country to another secretly and illegally They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of smuggling

Noun

Law described the dramatic operation to save lives along a remote route frequented by migrant smuggling boats. — Jaimie Ding, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 Homeland Security Investigations, the agency conducting the at-home visits, is one of the enforcement arms of ICE and typically focuses on criminal cross border investigations like child exploitation, drug smuggling and money laundering. — Madeleine May, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 The officer said those killed were RSF members and people involved in fuel smuggling. — CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Many analysts say Nigeria’s fuel subsidy burdened public finances and encouraged adverse behaviors like fuel smuggling. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026 Determined to save both his school and his future, Soulan resorts to increasingly desperate measures, including dangerous cross-border fuel smuggling, as his natural decency comes into conflict with his modest ambitions. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 Not a pushover but a practical-minded realist, the chef takes the punches, striking up a booze-smuggling deal with the Americans to keep the orphans living in his restaurant safe. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 Virtually everyone on the reservation had been touched by the dark side of border smuggling. — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026 His administration believed that the partnership could both deliver economic benefits and ease the way for continental cooperation on foreign policy, the environment, immigration, and drug smuggling. — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026

Verb

When two brothers tried smuggling 635 turtles valued at more than $1 million, one was sentenced to a year in prison and a $15,000 fine, and the other to two concurrent year-and-a-day sentences with a $10,000 fine. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Then Sean moves away and grows up to become a spy who, after wrapping up a mission involving smuggling a nuclear warhead for reasons unknown, decides to pay an impromptu visit to his tweenage buddies. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 Sanon and several associates flew to Haiti from South Florida on a private jet, smuggling a handful of ballistic vests supplied by a Doral-area security company, prosecutors said. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026 With the goal of smuggling themselves to Turkey, the women are eventually found out for keeping a secret or two from the conspirators abetting their plan. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026 The brave and resourceful Alice escaped the Nazis, smuggling her grandchildren to safety in England. — Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026 Nia then persuades Tefa to join her in smuggling cell phones into the regional prison. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2026 At night, Axira leads a secret operation, smuggling the ruler’s Heartfillers — until one mistake results in her execution date, per the book’s synopsis. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 Nia persuades Tefa to join her in smuggling cellphones into the regional prison. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggling

Noun

The guardedness is understandable, as the threat of poaching is still everywhere.

— Samantha Falewée, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026
Since early 2025, the March 23 Movement, a rebel group, has seized control of large parts of the park, fueling poaching, deforestation and trafficking.

— Elodie Toto, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of poaching

Verb

SpaceX would be awarding nearly half of its future earnings to Tesla’s selling shareholders.

— Jim Edwards, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Tesla’s letter to investors says its flat revenues were due to lower average selling prices, selling fewer cars, not receiving as much in credits, and also the decline of its energy storage business.

— Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of selling

Noun

One even got in trouble and is shackled to a wooden pillory, serving as an example to others who disobey the crown and engage in piracy.

— Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Following testimony from Meta staff who downloaded torrents, the order could expose a wider range of supervisors, managers, and executives whom staffers said greenlit the piracy.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of piracy

Verb

And now, there’s also a spread in how teams are distributing their games locally.

— Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Netflix’s current approach to acquiring and distributing international programming has been so successful that Sarandos said the company has no plans to change its strategy.

— Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of distributing

Noun

Haiti’s government described the incident as a kidnapping and said the search for the technicians was its top priority.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Investigators say that surveillance video of the kidnapping shows a man wearing black gloves getting out of the same vehicle.

— Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of kidnapping

Verb

She had been connected to a major transnational drug trafficking network active along the southern Arizona border throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

— Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Trump also classified Brazil’s biggest drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations shortly after receiving Bolsonaro at the White House — a move Lula’s administration opposed as a pretext for intervention.

— Eléonore Hughes, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of trafficking

Noun

Historical context and origins Before the rise of the Mongol empire, trade across Eurasia along the Silk Road network was frequently disrupted by warfare, political fragmentation, heavy taxation, and banditry.

— Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
Robin quickly and viscerally dispatches his foe, before going up against a larger swath of enemies who are targeting his former partner-in-banditry Little John (played by Bill Skarsgård).

— David Sims, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026

Definition of banditry

Verb

Simmons said OpenAI, Anthropic and Google are supplying credits, certificates and access to their training platforms so trainees learn on the tools employers use.

— Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Fanatics is supplying James with the helicopter as part of a multiyear, exclusive trading card and collectibles contract signed in 2024.

— Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of supplying

Browse Nearby Words

smuggles

smuggling

smugness

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Smuggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggling. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of smuggling

noun

verb

Example Sentences

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