spelled

verb

past tense of spell
1
as in possessed
to cast a spell on it was as if he had spelled the public into believing his ridiculous claims

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in meant
to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind that summertime combination of hot temperatures and equally hot tempers can spell trouble

Synonyms & Similar 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 spelled The loss spelled the end of the Chiefs’ perfect 5-0 start to the season. — Jeff Rosen, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026 Lifted from the pavement, that lead spelled a letter in her hand. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026 Still, there is no place for striker Deniz Undav, who led Germany with three goals and two assists at the World Cup before a round-of-32 loss on penalties to Paraguay spelled the end of coach Julian Nagelsmann's tenure. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026 While most are familiar with the name spelled John, this spelling has held its own spot on the chart since 1920. — Sarah Scott, Parents, 17 Sep. 2026 The Colts were just one touchdown drive away from knocking off the Texans in the regular-season finale and securing a postseason berth, but an errant pass from Minshew on fourth-and-1 spelled the end of their season. — James Boyd, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026 The shape spelled cat, and there was only one kind of cat in India big enough to make such prints. — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026 This festival, whose name is actually Halloween spelled backward, is the largest annual festival in Kansas. — Katy Spratte Joyce, Midwest Living, 22 Aug. 2026 Adames also committed an error on a routine grounder in the bottom of the seventh that could’ve spelled disaster, but Houser got out of the inning unscathed. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spelled
  1. possessed
  2. meant
  3. struck
  4. signified
  5. cursed
  6. denoted
  7. enchanted
  8. implied
Verb
  • Eugene Horsch and an unidentified woman were arrested days prior to the search, and authorities said Horsch possessed a pair of guns and a fake DEA badge.
    — Frederick Sutton Sinclair, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • If the state possessed information that complicated the explanation for why those changes were necessary, homeowners have a legitimate interest in seeing it.
    — Matthew T. Christ, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of possessed
Verb
  • The health benefits it is meant to finance aren’t one-time expenses, after all.
    — Ramesh Ponnuru, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
  • This approach was meant to counter Vucic's one-man rule and restore a sense of community and solidarity.
    — JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of meant
Verb
  • The attack struck the Greek Orthodox Church during a funeral in Karak, about 55 miles south of the capital, Amman, on Friday.
    — Omar Akour, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Naz Reid struck fire midway through the fourth, executing, in quick succession, plays on both ends of the court.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of struck
Verb
  • Whatever the detail signified, this was his final bow for Saint Laurent.
    — Luke Leitch, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The ceremonial ringing of the bell to open the market also signified the release of our latest ranking of Europe’s biggest businesses.
    — Sam Forsdick, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of signified
Verb
  • Kristian Matsson, who records under the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth, is both blessed and cursed by having arrived nearly fully formed.
    — David Harris, SPIN, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Shunned by locals, who believe she is cursed, Eleni turns to ancient rituals to resurrect her dead offspring but instead summons malevolent folkloric creatures known as the Kalikantzari.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of cursed
Verb
  • The downtrend channel that took hold in December 2024 has come into secular support from the monthly cloud model, denoted by the shading on the chart.
    — Katie Stockton, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The machine generated about a dozen or so graphs, marked by human figures and bursts of colors that denoted energy fields, broken down by organ—and even tooth.
    — Jessica Sulima, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of denoted
Verb
  • The boy was a soccer player who was enchanted by the idea of camping in the woods; Charlotte was bright and cheery, sometimes applying glitter to her father’s mustache.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • My daughter was enchanted by the Balinese rice-on-the-forehead ritual for good fortune that is a part of the arrival, and the front desk staff happily indulged her request to do it again—multiple times a day.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of enchanted
Verb
  • The intensity of the filmmaker-subject relationship—in addition to any potential untrustworthiness—is almost always implied, if not explicit.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • When Reuss made the comments in 2022 it was implied, though not explicitly stated, that an electric Corvette would be part of this C8 generation.
    — Joel Feder, The Drive, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of implied

Browse Nearby Words

spellbound
spelled
spelled out
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Cite this Entry

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

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