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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Taylor also weighed in on keeping her cool on stage when things go wrong, such as embracing her wig flying off and whipping it around her head, the proper form for double-dutching and having patience in Hollywood.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
26 Feb. 2026 -
Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The spotless streets are polished nightly by the feet of families licking ice cream.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Mar. 2026
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On April 30, 2025, the dog was reportedly licking its tail and lethargic.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Laken Snelling, 21, who was a member of the university's stunt team, is accused of hiding the birth and putting the baby’s body in a closet.—
Michael Dorgan , Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
11 Mar. 2026
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Then West rolls over, bringing his arms into his chest and hiding his face in the nook between Ben’s shapely arm and the sun lounger.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And yet, Trump has also managed to avoid complex questions about those issues — the most pressing before his administration — and despite Democrats and some of his own supporters lashing out over them.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Noem and her chief adviser Corey Lewandowski -- who is reportedly also departing DHS -- both had a knack for lashing out, yelling and berating staff that crossed them, according to sources.—
Luke Barr,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Using traditional Ukrainian folklore songs, voiceover plus pounding music, the stakes these young people confront become clearly apparent.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
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Everything around him pounding in its pulse, the song of the world thronging in all its discord.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Crosby is out a minimum of four weeks because of a lower-body injury and Malkin served the second of a five-game suspension for slashing Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin in the head.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Mar. 2026
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That $67 ticket informed me that the airline was selling seats to fill planes and slashing staff and services to dangerous levels.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Examples include a husband having the legal right to restrict his wife’s travel and employment, unequal divorce rights and punishment for appearing in public without a hijab ranging from fines to prison time to flogging.—
Ellie Austin,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
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Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).—
Bianca Davino,
Refinery29,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Israel, meanwhile, appears content to keep battering the Islamic Republic, whatever the downstream consequences, while also mustering a new offensive into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2026
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Two employees of a Des Plaines, Illinois daycare center stood charged Tuesday with battering children.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Birching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birching. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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