boomeranging

verb

present participle of boomerang
as in collapsing
to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect the well-meaning gesture boomeranged, since he ended up being offended by it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 boomeranging The idea of Miami boomeranging from 7-10 to make the playoffs next year and maybe even end that playoff-victory drought is not be crazy. — Greg Cote january 26, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boomeranging
  1. collapsing
  2. flopping
  3. backfiring
Verb
  • His message delivery is no more successful than Todd’s, and now the entire conference is in danger of collapsing.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The wounded man fled across the parking lot before collapsing near Seminary Drive, where responding officers attempted lifesaving measures.
    — Giles Hudson, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of collapsing
Verb
  • The reason this call matters is due to an emphasis by officials on flopping heading into the 2026-27 season.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The tall foliage of bearded iris (Iris germanica) begins flopping early in the growing season.
    — Marie Iannotti, The Spruce, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of flopping
Verb
  • But then others questioned the group’s independence, highlighted LTF’s controversial and backfiring track record, and worried about the super PAC’s toxic effect on OpenAI’s brand and retention of senior researchers.
    — Garrison Lovely, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • That seemingly sound advice from the master of the field now risks backfiring, Doctorow argued.
    — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of backfiring

Browse Nearby Words

boomeranged
boomeranging
boomerangs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Boomeranging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boomeranging. Accessed 20 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 compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

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

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
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
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All