braining

verb

present participle of brain
as in cudgeling

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for braining
  1. spearing
  2. stabbing
  3. flailing
  4. lashing
  5. slashing
  6. whipping
  7. thrashing
  8. sapping
Verb
  • When staking dahlias in late summer, take care to avoid spearing the tubers.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There are frightening stories of swordfish charging boats, and even spearing their transoms and whacking propellers.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of spearing
Verb
  • Prosecutors said Gargiulo charmed women in the Los Angeles area by presenting himself as a friendly neighbor and handyman before breaking into their homes and stabbing them to death.
    — Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Paula Larson, 60, smiles tearfully outside the Markham Courthouse after James Barbier was convicted of murder in the stabbing death of her mother in 1966.
    — Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images As Intel comes off its steepest stock drop since the 1970s due to a worsening outlook for the PC market, the chipmaker is facing intensifying pressure to get its flailing foundry business off the ground.
    — Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2026
  • All of that would be bad enough if the Mamdani administration at least had a plan for turning around our flailing public school system.
    — Ciara Jackson, New York Daily News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of flailing
Verb
  • Most of the students were accused of minor offenses, like making threats, using cannabis vapes or lashing out at classmates or teachers, the analysis found.
    — Kristian Hernández, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • More students ages 10 to 13 are ending up in the justice system after vaping, making threats and lashing out at school.
    — Rosie Cima, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • British anti-immigration activist Daniel Thomas pleaded guilty to slashing an inflatable migrant boat in the English Channel while a French rescue worker was aboard.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Public schools would seem an odd fit for private equity, which is typically premised on a strategy of slashing costs, trimming head count, and finding the right moment to sell up.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • In September 2022, Brandon Sanchez, a member of the show cast, documented a riding lesson in an email to management and HR, describing Garcia berating riders and whipping a Friesian horse for an extended period.
    — Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
  • By far, the easiest way to decongest my pores is whipping out one of the Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads and giving my T-zone a very proper run-through.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • The Oregon Ducks find themselves back in the conversation after thrashing Ohio State this past weekend in Columbus.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The second the bull stopped running, another big bull ran up, hooked his antlers, and threw my bull on the ground, thrashing him as if my bull owed him money.
    — Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of thrashing
Verb
  • Partita takes a poem that vibrates with political energy and domesticates it, sapping this very famous verse of its revolutionary bite.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Stubbornly high inflation has been sapping consumer confidence and pressuring the Fed, which recently raised its benchmark interest rate in an effort to cool prices.
    — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of sapping
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

braininess
braining
brainless
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Cite this Entry

“Braining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/braining. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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