1
2
as in victim
a person or thing harmed, lost, or destroyed
he fell prey to nagging—but groundless—doubts about his wife's fidelity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in target
a person or thing that is the object of abuse, criticism, or ridicule
that woman has a sharp tongue, and her favored prey is her long-suffering husband
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prey
The teeth from the pterosaur Kligman and colleagues studied were worn down, indicating that the reptile was feeding on relatively hard prey.
—
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2025
The original Jurassic Park already provided plenty of material about science running amok, and the first Jurassic World was a cautionary tale about capitalism falling prey to its worst instincts.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 4 July 2025
Leaders trained in mental discipline are less likely to fall prey to confirmation bias or overconfidence.
—Gamini Hewawasam, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
These predators typically patrol altitudes below 10,000 feet, especially around dawn when their prey begins flying again after nighttime rest.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prey
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2025
The original Jurassic Park already provided plenty of material about science running amok, and the first Jurassic World was a cautionary tale about capitalism falling prey to its worst instincts.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 4 July 2025
Leaders trained in mental discipline are less likely to fall prey to confirmation bias or overconfidence.
—Gamini Hewawasam, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
These predators typically patrol altitudes below 10,000 feet, especially around dawn when their prey begins flying again after nighttime rest.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prey
Noun
-
In Tuscany, Meara Sharma goes to the Carrara marble quarries, where the water is polluted, the mountains hacked, all in the service of high-end buildings and fancy bathrooms.—
The Dial,
The Dial,
8 July 2025
-
As game warden Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) and his team attempt to transfer a Velociraptor into its holding pen at the park, their quarry manages to outsmart them and get its claws on the worker in charge of opening the pen's gate.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
3 July 2025
Noun
-
The store brand juggernaut triggered by pandemic-era inflation and economic uncertainty has passed a tipping point with consumers and may have claimed its first national brand victim.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
The same region of Texas Hill Country where a flash flood on July 4 killed more than 130 people was hit again with downpours a week later, forcing searchers to temporarily pause their efforts to find missing victims.—
Jeremy Porter,
CBS News,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
As of July 1, 2025, the new target reductions in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels are 30 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 and 90 percent below by 2045.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
-
Elevate Textiles announce the validation of its near-term and net-zero emissions targets by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
1 July 2025
Noun
-
Watson, 46, who as deputy criminal chief was serving in one of the office’s senior positions, became another casualty in President Donald Trump’s mission to purge anyone found to have worked in some way for special counsel Jack Smith.—
Jay Weaver
July 14,
Miami Herald,
14 July 2025
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The Battle of the Somme ground on for another four months, at the cost of more than a million British, French, and German casualties.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prey. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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