purloin
verb (used with object)
to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer.
purloined
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past participleof purloin.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof purloin.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
purloinverb (used with object)to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Users, including Fortune 500 companies, are turning to unregulated, possibly purloined “open weight” Chinese AI models to save money and avoid exposing their data to the big domestic labs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Betancourt tells us that “Hello Stranger” begins in “a place where I’ve long purloined many of my most head-spinning obsessions: the movies.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025
But the moment passed, and in 1949 the Soviet Union exploded its own plutonium-based atomic bomb — largely by re-creating Hanford 1,000 miles east of Moscow using blueprints purloined from the Manhattan Project.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
But remember when Arondir described Theo’s purloined sword-hilt as a kind of key?
From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2022
But while the purloined guitar presented no ownership problem, his remaining property did.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
