BAITED Synonyms: 112 Similar and Opposite Words

baited

verb

past tense of bait

as in taunted

to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults I wished the candidates would stop baiting each other and instead address the real issues

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in tempted

to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage the investment scheme cunningly baits the greedy and the unscrupulous

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 baited Southampton’s first game of the season was at Watford, whose fans baited Eckert’s team. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026 In our testing, a paper-funnel trap baited with overripe fruit and fruit-forward vinegar consistently caught the most flies. — Emma Jacobson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Aug. 2026 Some programs investigate complaints by setting small surveillance traps—often baited with light, carbon dioxide, water, or another attractant—to collect mosquitoes, identify the species, and gauge where activity is concentrated. — Angela Haupt, Time, 3 Aug. 2026 The federal agency detailed removal efforts on its website, including traps baited with eggs and trackers to lure tegus and study their movements. — Rylan Digiacomo-Rapp, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2026 Spurs center Victor Wembanyama baited Towns and Knicks center Mitchell Robinson into fouls. — Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026 There are baited Japanese beetle traps, but research at the University of Kentucky shows that the traps attract many more beetles than are actually caught. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 30 May 2026 After Holmgren baited Hauser into a foul — deja vu from the final seconds of C’s-Thunder Round 1 — Baylor Scheierman replaced him and buried two quick triples, the second putting the Celtics up 74-73. — Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2026 Claude, for example, wouldn’t be baited into partisan controversy. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for baited

Verb

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) announced an investigation after Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves appeared to be taunted by the chants during their away league win on Saturday.

— Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
The rivalry between the two stars dates back to the 2023 NCAA women’s national championship game, when Reese's LSU Tigers defeated Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes and Reese famously, and without class, taunted Clark in the closing moments.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of taunted

Verb

As of now, On does not sell soccer boots, although Mbappé has already teased a prototype in matches.

— Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
Audrey Niffenegger has long teased the sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife, featuring Clare and Henry’s Chrono-Displaced daughter Alba and her two husbands—Oliver, a time traveler like her, and Zach, existing in linear time.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of teased

Verb

Since then, the Kremlin has relied on volunteers lured by relatively high pay and benefits to sustain its force of what President Vladimir Putin has said numbers about 700,000 men fighting in Ukraine.

— Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
That same fall, Lane Kiffin walked out on an 11-1 Ole Miss team weeks before its first playoff game, lured to LSU by a war chest the Rebels couldn’t match.

— Chris Park, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of lured

Verb

If Gayle Newland had been a cis man who had seduced Miss X by pretending to be Kye Fortune, the case would have fallen outside the McNally principle, and Miss X would have had very little chance of having her complaint heard.

— S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Many have taken up such invitations, seduced by the island’s stress-free, go-slow rhythm.

— Michelle Jana Chan, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of seduced

Verb

That may be why Ellison persuaded Ynon Kreiz, the CEO of Mattel, to depart the toy giant for a job as co-CEO.

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Ivey and his partner persuaded the Crockfords dealer to rotate the high-value cards 180 degrees before shuffling them back into the pack, citing some obscure superstition as justification.

— Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026