1
as in whipping
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
students at the private school were once routinely birched for violating the rules
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
always a stern disciplinarian, our father birched anyone who talked back
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for birching
Verb
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The wind was whipping this past week at McGrath Stadium, mist in the air.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
29 Sep. 2025 -
Video from Camiguin Island, posted by the Philippines Department of the Interior and Local Government, showed fierce winds and ocean water whipping past houses onto a residential street.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In fact, the mischievous pup led his owner directly to the scene of the crime by licking his lips constantly, which seemed awfully curious.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Bear 856 is also a large, male brown bear, who is easily identifiable to park rangers due to the animal's unusual habit of licking his lips — a behavior not typically observed in brown bears.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Johnson sat in the makeup chair for two hours undergoing a transformation process that resulted in the cauliflower ears, a specific browbone piece and other prosthetics, plus hiding his tattoos.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
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Keep scrolling to shop the best deals on plush bedding and area rugs hiding in Amazon’s home department.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Imelda pulled away from the Bahamas Monday evening after lashing the islands with heavy rain, tropical storm-force winds and storm surge for two days.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
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Loners lashing out America has had genuine subversives and left-wing terror networks in the past.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Layered with live jazz and pounding percussion from experimental duo Robin Schulkowsky and Joey Baron, the result gave Hedda an extra pulse.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
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My heart was pounding in my chest and in my ears.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Oxy barely survived the downturn, slashing its dividend from 79 cents per share each quarter down to just one penny.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
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Even if the game was already lost, there might not have been a penalty more maddening than Nick Cousins slashing Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov just as his team began an odd-man rush.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After battering the vehicle with its paws for a few seconds, the bear leaves the man inside alone to chase after another car.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
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More than 100 people were killed there on Saturday as Israel continues battering Gaza City.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Birching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birching. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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