as in collapsed
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 boomeranged
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
Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomeranged
Verb
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After the state distributor Embrafilme was dismantled in 1990, national production nearly collapsed, silencing a generation of filmmakers.—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
12 Oct. 2025
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As for that Oregon-Penn State game, the Nittany Lions have full-on collapsed since Drew Allar’s OT interception gave the Ducks what looked like an impressive victory.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This drama — a remake of an Oscar-winning Argentine film — flopped mightily upon release, but Roberts was quite compelling in it.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
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Two years later, the two companies launched a humanoid robot called Pepper — a bet that ultimately flopped, but robotics has now re-emerged as a key focus for the Japanese giant.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The gamble backfired and his centrist bloc lost seats to both extremes, leaving France with a three-way split parliament and a government that could not pass major legislation.—
Saskya Vandoorne,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
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Many of Thomson’s decisions were rooted in logic, and almost all of them backfired.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boomeranged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomeranged. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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