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
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
Not long afterward, another male red fox entered the scene of the crime; the purloined repast had been his.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
But remember when Arondir described Theo’s purloined sword-hilt as a kind of key?
From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2022
It knew thief and steal and, maybe, purloined.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
