as in smacked
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
an overhead branch suddenly fell and bonked him on the head
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bonked
With eight minutes left in the contest, Kempe bonked Cale Makar in the back of the head, then went to the box for mixing it up with captain Gabe Landeskog, who came to Makar’s defense, shortly thereafter.
—
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Their fight is to be continued next week, and whether or not another member of the deck team gets bonked on the head remains to be determined.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Their fight is to be continued next week, and whether or not another member of the deck team gets bonked on the head remains to be determined.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bonked
Verb
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Llamas smacked 139 hits in her career, Kyles 136.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 June 2026
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In his first three games of the season, Bryant had 350 receiving yards to go along with four touchdowns, before an all-too familiar foe smacked him down with a brutal punishment.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Robinson responded with a forearm to Wembanyama’s neck that either knocked him to the ground or gave sufficient cover for a flop.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
11 June 2026
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Last September, a fire at a South Korean data center knocked 647 government services offline.—
Leonard Lim,
Fortune,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The Americans gradually amplified their attack centered around Pulisic’s runs — and three minutes after an apparent goal from Balogun was erased by an offside call, Pulisic again drove the left side and got a deflected pass to the trailing Balogun, who banged it home.—
Greg Beacham,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2026
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Instead, both hesitated, their feet tangled and a charging Healy banged in the loose ball.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Fireworks lit up the night sky, people honked horns on jampacked streets and firefighters — from their trucks — slapped high-fives with delirious fans.—
Tim Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
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Do not read this if my editors have slapped a closeup of cochliomyia hominivorax, aka nightmare flesh-eating parasite, on top of this column.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Lightning hits the United States approximately 25 million times annually.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
13 June 2026
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Right fielder Jung Hoo Lee saw his 18-game hitting streak, the longest active streak in the majors entering play, come to an end after going hitless in three at-bats.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Among those arrested was a woman who allegedly punched a police officer.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
9 June 2026
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Emily Dunn then responded with a goal for Walpole, but Duxbury punched right back via the stick of Emma Prouty.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
9 June 2026
Verb
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A little over a month later, another spell of freezing weather bullied its way into Central Florida and slammed the remaining citrus groves that had just started to recover.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
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Rob Stewart was slammed by fans for jetting off to attend Scotland's FIFA World Cup match in Boston less than a day after the rocker canceled a concert in California due to health issues.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
Verb
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Mitchell Robinson elbow checked him in the face, Jose Alvarado pulled off a single-legged take-down in the first half, and Towns drew a frustration flagrant foul when Wembanyama whacked him in the face.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
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The Knicks are also getting whacked every time down the court.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bonked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bonked. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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