braining

verb

present participle of brain
as in cudgeling

Related Words

Relevance

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
  • His ideas are later used to discourage violently spearing food with a knife, and instead promote the pacifist chopstick.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Sturdy individual stakes are a good option, and to prevent spearing the bulb, they should be placed at planting time.
    — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 July 2026
Definition of spearing
Verb
  • Video clips of Guarino performing the Endo One procedure — which involves repeatedly stabbing the skin with a thin, cylindrical rod, releasing a red laser — are posted regularly on his and EvoSkin’s Instagram accounts.
    — Ella Moore July 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
  • Holly returns to save her dad by violently stabbing and killing Crowley, but Voit decides to take the fall for Holly and is put back behind bars.
    — Joyce Eng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • Recent champions Las Vegas and New York are once again flailing through the regular season, relying on their ability to flip the switch at an opportune moment.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • And regardless, such arrangements are unlikely to save a flailing labor market.
    — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
Definition of flailing
Verb
  • Relentless rains were lashing Texas Hill Country on Thursday, with flash flood emergencies reported across the region, rescues ongoing and waters rising to deadly levels.
    — Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 16 July 2026
  • Julian Quinones — Mexico/Al Qadsiah (-7) Quinones took his World Cup goal tally to four by lashing a loose ball into the roof of the net against England.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • Retailers like Wayfair, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Amazon are still slashing prices on some of the highest-quality pieces on the market.
    — Sarah Scott, Southern Living, 19 July 2026
  • San Francisco had already seen a Waymo smashed and torched by a crowd, and a man charged with slashing the tires of seventeen more.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • The attorney questioned whether a person would be able to smell alcohol at the same time that wind generated by 18-wheelers and other vehicles whipping by on the highway was blowing, as was occurring during the officer’s time with Hampton.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026
  • Zeus and Poseidon are at it again—one hurling thunderbolts, the other whipping the sea into a frenzy.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • Fifty metres is just one length down the pool—a frenzy of thrashing arms and legs.
    — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • The catch hits the bottom of their boat with a resounding smack, followed by the inconsistent beating of numerous animals thrashing due to the lack of water.
    — Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of thrashing
Verb
  • And then, in the 93rd minute, after 100 consecutive (and non-threatening) passes, after more than five minutes of time-sapping possession, Algeria suddenly broke forward and scored!
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • Unlike basketball or baseball, pro football is far from the point where regular-season contests become meaningless, but that hasn’t stopped its fans from debating whether the NFL is sapping some of the magic that comes from football’s scarcity.
    — Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 10 July 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
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Braining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/braining. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on braining

Nglish: Translation of braining for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All