corkscrewed

verb

past tense of corkscrew
1
as in pulled
to draw out by force or with effort practically every word had to be corkscrewed out of the tight-lipped witness

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curled
to follow a circular or spiral course the trail corkscrews through dense woods to the top of the steep hill

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 corkscrewed One crew member from each team was taken to hospital after the New Zealand boat nosedived and immediately corkscrewed 90 degrees, directly into the path of the French boat just a few metres behind. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 19 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corkscrewed
  1. pulled
  2. curled
  3. yanked
  4. coiled
  5. extracted
  6. curved
  7. pried
  8. plucked
Verb
  • Our shopping editors have done the wandering for you and pulled the furniture deals worth acting on before midnight, with some marked down by more than 50%.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Nick Pivetta yielded two runs and five hits while pitching into the fifth for the Padres, and Dustin May got pulled abruptly with a 1-0 count on Bogaerts and a runner aboard in the fourth.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of pulled
Verb
  • After the break, Croatia's defense was sliced open again on a quick break and Elliot Anderson curled in a cross from the right and Kane slid in at the back post for a poacher's finish.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • With the rains the park has had lately, the leaves were relaxed and not curled into their dry weather posture.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of curled
Verb
  • Although nine episodes were filmed, only two aired before A&E yanked the controversial and critically panned series, WXIX reported at the time.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Two months later, Jimmy Kimmel Live was briefly yanked from the air over comments that host Jimmy Kimmel made about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
    — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of yanked
Verb
  • The song stays coiled, neither tightening its grip nor exploding into noise.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
  • For the past 860,000 years, its shell has coiled almost exclusively to the right.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of coiled
Verb
  • Allegations quickly emerged that DeepSeek had trained R1 in part on responses extracted from OpenAI’s models.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Sergio Cremisini, an expert in digital forensic evidence, who extracted information from Sierra’s phone in 2012, 2018 and 2026.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of extracted
Verb
  • The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s central plaza, which spreads out beneath the building’s curved, hovering form, was always meant to be a generous civic space.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The signature curved heel from the designer’s Larroudé past collections returns, but this time also in a kitten heel iteration.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of curved
Verb
  • Someone pried open the rear cover to a truck and stole a set of golf clubs for a loss of about $3,000.
    — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2026
  • But maybe pried his focus and joy and freedom away just a little bit going into the year.
    — Will Sammon, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of pried
Verb
  • Four years later Fontaine plucked another future Hall of Famer, taking outfielder Tony Gwynn in the third round.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • His last one was in the fourth quarter by Curry, who read the short pass and plucked it out of the air for the score.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of plucked

Browse Nearby Words

corkscrew
corkscrewed
corkscrewing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Corkscrewed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corkscrewed. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of inscrutable

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All