as in to wax
to defeat by a large margin
the local football team was shellacked 35-0 in their final outing for the season
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shellac
Slide into a booth and prepare for your taste buds to dance over crusty rosemary and focaccia shellacked with tomato and sea urchin butter, and flaky halibut adorned with marigolds and tangy mushrooms.
—
Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
This game was much closer than the 41-17 shellacking the Ravens gave the Browns back in Week 2.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 Nov. 2025
While Cincinnati’s visit to Detroit was one of the more intriguing matchups on the fall calendar, the loss of Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ subsequent 48-10 shellacking under the horns of the Vikings have made the team a liability of sorts.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Robert Morris opened the campaign with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia before taking a 56-17 shellacking at Youngstown State.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellac
Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
This game was much closer than the 41-17 shellacking the Ravens gave the Browns back in Week 2.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 Nov. 2025
While Cincinnati’s visit to Detroit was one of the more intriguing matchups on the fall calendar, the loss of Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ subsequent 48-10 shellacking under the horns of the Vikings have made the team a liability of sorts.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Robert Morris opened the campaign with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia before taking a 56-17 shellacking at Youngstown State.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shellac
Verb
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But the Pakistani-American relationship has waxed and waned over time.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Look to the southern sky as darkness falls on March 27 to see the thickening form of the waxing gibbous moon glowing close to the stars of the Beehive Cluster (M44) at the heart of the constellation Cancer, the crab.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The beaters also creamed the butter and sugar faster than any other mixer, producing a perfectly light and fluffy texture.—
Mark Marino,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 Mar. 2026
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Let the butter come to room temperature, and start creaming it in a mixer.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Strait of Hormuz, on the other hand, is a natural waterway, and Tehran essentially wants to charge ships for the privilege of crossing it without being bombed.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
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In recent days, Israel has hit apartment buildings in Beirut and bombed bridges over the Litani River in Lebanon's south.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Bane overcame a slow start by making six of his first seven attempts at the free-throw line to reach 10 points after two quarters.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
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The Leafs overcame a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the third period, including Rielly's snap shot from the high slot that beat Anaheim goalie Ville Husso stick-side to give Toronto a 4-3 lead with three minutes left in regulation.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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For 10 minutes, Boyd took in the scene as the flags whipped above the center-field scoreboard, Cubs infielders took grounders and stadium workers finished final preparations before 39,712 fans streamed into the ballpark.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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This pizza has soppressata, whipped ricotta and drizzles of hot honey.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Blinken said the Democratic administrations considered military action but didn’t pursue it because Iran could retaliate and bury its nuclear program deeper underground.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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Also stolen was a bronze plaque honoring the 18 unmarked graves of African Americans who were also buried there.—
Paul Burton,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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For many adults, the beauty book triggered memories of a pre-social-media childhood spent cutting pictures out of magazines and pasting them into notebooks.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
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All medical specialties have rules for filling out their notes, and ABA providers shouldn’t need the state to tell them that copying and pasting the same summary for each session, as the inspectors found in some cases, wasn’t good enough, Bimestefer said.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In tight spaces where a straight driver can't complete a full rotation, that elbow geometry is the difference between finishing the job and abandoning it after hurting your wrist, skinning your knuckles, and questioning your life choices.—
Omar Kardoudi
March 05,
New Atlas,
5 Mar. 2026
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Mom skinned it, went to the pound to find a slightly smaller dog, and stitched the old dog’s skin over the new dog.—
Andrew Norman Wilson,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shellac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shellac. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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