as in thud
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
gave the TV a good wham with her fist, and suddenly the picture came back on
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to smack
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wham
Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno and company made their wham-bam-glam debut on ‘Roxy Music’ 50 years ago.
—Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022
Perhaps my overall disappointment stems from this pilot stiffness, but the more likely culprit is the standard brashness of American reality television, which is less cinema vérité and more wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
—Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2020
But the movie, for all its retrograde politics and wham-bam machismo, can also be slick, silly fun — a giddy exercise in freewheeling nihilism, played to the hilt.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2020
The movie comes at you with a quick, wham-bam style that feels like a nod to the source material, a DC Vertigo comic-book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
SI.com, 21 June 2019
Noun
Easy drinking 100% Merlot with 14% alcohol with flavors that include dark licorice, cinnamon and nutmeg and a wham of a finish.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno and company made their wham-bam-glam debut on ‘Roxy Music’ 50 years ago.
—Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022
Perhaps my overall disappointment stems from this pilot stiffness, but the more likely culprit is the standard brashness of American reality television, which is less cinema vérité and more wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
—Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2020
But the movie, for all its retrograde politics and wham-bam machismo, can also be slick, silly fun — a giddy exercise in freewheeling nihilism, played to the hilt.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2020
The movie comes at you with a quick, wham-bam style that feels like a nod to the source material, a DC Vertigo comic-book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
Verb
Goalscorer Asamoah Gyan took the resulting penalty, only to wham it off the top of the bar.
—SI.com, 21 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wham
Noun
-
Then, the film falls with a thud, never to rise again.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 June 2025
-
One struck a police cruiser with a thud, prompting a big cheer.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
Verb
-
The Giants haven’t had a 30-homer hitter in a single season since Bonds smacked 45 in 2004.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
16 June 2025
-
Fifteen years ago, smack in the middle of Barack Obama's first term, amid the rapid rise of social media and a slow recovery from the Great Recession, a professor at the University of Connecticut issued a stark warning: the United States was heading into a decade of growing political instability.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 June 2025
Noun
-
In another blow to China’s push to become a regional leader, India on Thursday rejected signing a joint statement facilitated by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization—one such grouping set up by China and Russia to counter U.S. influence.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
27 June 2025
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The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to the chamber’s procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
The 45-year-old was acquitted of charges stemming from her being accused of leaving her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in the snow after hitting him with her car outside a party, and of leaving the scene of an accident, causing death.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
18 June 2025
-
The Yankees have not suddenly forgotten how to hit.—
Chris Kirschner,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Noun
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As its infectious message, hip hop hook, gentle-against-forceful thump, radiates further into the zeitgeist expect it be heard everywhere.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
15 June 2025
-
The only noise was the low thump from a boombox in front of a boba shop.—
Kaitlyn Huamani,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Verb
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The plainness of the text there has a certain force — there are times where whacking a theme with a big hammer is the best course of action.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
-
One pitch later, Pete Alonso whacked a hanging curveball from Knack for a two-run homer.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2025
Noun
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Those embarrassing losses with ownership sitting in the expensive seats were a big-time slap in the face to the decision makers.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
-
The number of girl slaps exchanged between the governor and Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez over the state budget impasse.—
Pat Beall,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 June 2025
Verb
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After my books had been boxed up for three years during various moves and travel, finally getting to unpack them in Baton Rouge felt like meeting old friends.—
Jack Barlow,
Christian Science Monitor,
18 June 2025
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Gottheimer with a confounding TV ad that used AI to portray him boxing with Trump, Spiller with a $35 million spend from his union, dwarfing every other candidate’s war chest.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wham.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wham. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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