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.
Evolution has similarly purloined existing features and modified them, using great thrift, for example, to transmogrify a piece of jaw into an ear or to transform a leg into a wing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 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
Her goal: to use the purloined flower to create a game-changing hybrid rose, win the famed Bagatelle International New Rose Contest and salvage her business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2022
She had a cloth bag with food purloined from the fridge slung across her chest.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
