as in hammering
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1
as in bumping
to come into usually forceful contact with something
the car bashed into the tree with glass-shattering force
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slamming
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
you have to bash that door hard in order to get it open
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
the angry child kept bashing her toy with a hammer until it broke
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in attacking
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
in all of talk radio no other host seems to enjoy bashing liberals as much as he does
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of bashing
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
Several former players have had enough of the Bam bashing.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2026
But Beshear hasn’t turned Trump-bashing into a 24/7 vocation, or a weight-lifting contest where the winner is the critic wielding the heaviest bludgeon.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Powell, known for a cool head and a quiet demeanor, has consistently avoided direct confrontations with Trump, even as the president's personal displeasure with the Fed chair escalated from behind the scenes pressure to public bashing.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 21 Jan. 2026
In the same way that writing had taught me to pay attention to life, to perpetually hoover up sensory details and bits of dialogue around me, trash bashing cultivated a new propensity for seeing interesting possibilities in everyday items.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
Those optics gave Democrats, particularly the moderate gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, room to run on the economy while largely steering clear of Trump-bashing.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
Anthony Izaguirre The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026
The move comes just a few months after Mamdani took office, following a bitter campaign season last year that had the two Democrats taking turns bashing each other in often caustic and personal terms.
—CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Trump’s media-bashing, often a dull roar in the background, is an unusually loud howl right now.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 16 Mar. 2026
Paramount declined to comment on the remarks by Hegseth, a former Fox News host who has a lot of experience in bashing the mainstream media.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Nathan Lane, who famously played an obsessive Maria Callas fan in Terrence McNally’s play The Lisbon Traviata, had some harsh words for the opera- and ballet-bashing Timothée Chalamet on today’s The View.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
In a letter obtained by Variety on Monday, Tarantino called out Arquette for bashing his film.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
There was, unsurprisingly, a great deal of Trump-bashing and much talk of affordability, or rather, the excruciating lack of it in this priciest of states.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
The shot of drummer Ilan Rubin pairs a jangly guitar with snare bashing.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2026
Noun
Which seems like the anxiety Chalamet was trying to express with his needless opera bashing.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
Several former players have had enough of the Bam bashing.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2026
But Beshear hasn’t turned Trump-bashing into a 24/7 vocation, or a weight-lifting contest where the winner is the critic wielding the heaviest bludgeon.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Powell, known for a cool head and a quiet demeanor, has consistently avoided direct confrontations with Trump, even as the president's personal displeasure with the Fed chair escalated from behind the scenes pressure to public bashing.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 21 Jan. 2026
In the same way that writing had taught me to pay attention to life, to perpetually hoover up sensory details and bits of dialogue around me, trash bashing cultivated a new propensity for seeing interesting possibilities in everyday items.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
Those optics gave Democrats, particularly the moderate gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, room to run on the economy while largely steering clear of Trump-bashing.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
The move comes just a few months after Mamdani took office after a bitter campaign season last year that had the two Democrats taking turns bashing each other in often caustic and personal terms.
—Anthony Izaguirre The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026
The move comes just a few months after Mamdani took office, following a bitter campaign season last year that had the two Democrats taking turns bashing each other in often caustic and personal terms.
—CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Trump’s media-bashing, often a dull roar in the background, is an unusually loud howl right now.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 16 Mar. 2026
Paramount declined to comment on the remarks by Hegseth, a former Fox News host who has a lot of experience in bashing the mainstream media.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Nathan Lane, who famously played an obsessive Maria Callas fan in Terrence McNally’s play The Lisbon Traviata, had some harsh words for the opera- and ballet-bashing Timothée Chalamet on today’s The View.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
In a letter obtained by Variety on Monday, Tarantino called out Arquette for bashing his film.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
There was, unsurprisingly, a great deal of Trump-bashing and much talk of affordability, or rather, the excruciating lack of it in this priciest of states.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
The shot of drummer Ilan Rubin pairs a jangly guitar with snare bashing.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bashing
Noun
-
Ronnie Moyers heard the bird hammering in the woods one morning in late February, several weeks before the species usually shows up in Virginia’s western highlands.—
Sarah Kaplan,
Washington Post,
23 Mar. 2026
-
But the midfielder may get the chance to assist his team’s daunting assignment in overhauling their first-leg 6-1 hammering by Bayern in Munich.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Images and videos shared on social media show robots from various brands getting lost, bumping into things, and struggling to cross streets.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The site is a non-union location and there are no bumping rights.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Democrats, especially, are slamming the move to deploy them in place of TSA officers, since the tactics used for immigration enforcement are some of the main reasons for the government shutdown in the first place.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The Tucson hit both vehicles before slamming into the police cruiser and the tractor-trailer, cops said.—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The spotless streets are polished nightly by the feet of families licking ice cream.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Mar. 2026
-
On April 30, 2025, the dog was reportedly licking its tail and lethargic.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
There are outside groups aligned with Democrats, yet much of their spending has focused on attacking Collins, rather than supporting a Democratic primary candidate.—
Steve Mistler,
NPR,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Regardless, there’s no excuse — even in hard knocks politics — for attacking someone because of his disability.—
George Skelton,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The first was at Wolverhampton Wanderers, then the second was in the closing stages of the thrashing of Crystal Palace at Elland Road.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Stevenson played his best game in the Pats’ regular-season finale, a 38-10 thrashing of Miami.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
People fed up with rolling blackouts have staged sporadic protests in recent days, banging pots and shouting slogans against the government, rare demonstrations in a country known for repressing dissent.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Late Thursday night into early Friday morning, residents in several neighborhoods in Havana took to the streets, banging pots and pans and, in some cases, lighting bonfires to block major roads in the capital — a sign of escalating frustration.—
Ivan Taylor,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When the Rockets called a time out, the Lakers bench all ran over to Doncic, hugging him, slapping him and James nudging him for a job very well done.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
About 15 minutes later, another 911 call comes in from a woman named Jane Kowalski, who sees Denise Lee slapping the back window of King's car and hears her screaming for help.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bashing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bashing. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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