bruises 1 of 2

noun

plural of bruise
1
as in scratches
a bodily injury in which small blood vessels are broken but the overlying skin is not she got quite a big bruise from walking into the corner of the table

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in scrapes
an area of skin roughened or worn away by harsh rubbing against another surface bruises caused by ill-fitting hiking boots

Synonyms & Similar Words

bruises

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bruise
as in wounds

Related Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of bruises
Noun
Tucker picked up some extra bumps and bruises Saturday, most notably fouling a pitch off his right knee in the third inning. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026 The woman, 37, was found half naked with bruises on her body and tied up with cables. — Rael Ombuor The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026 The baby was covered in bruises and appeared to have teeth marks on his stomach, police said. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026 When shopping for apples, choose fruits that are firm and free from bruises and dents. — Jillian Kubala, HEALTH, 18 Sep. 2026 Photos of the teen’s back show multiple bruises down his spine and on the shoulder area, the affidavits state. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Sep. 2026 His other hand sweeps by me and bruises into my brother’s face. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026 His bone bruises have limited him to just 19 starts, making consistency and length harder to come by. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026 All were women between the ages of 20 and 38, and all were found either naked or partially clothed with bruises on their bodies, according to the police. — ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bruises
  1. scratches
  2. scrapes
  3. wounds
  4. contusions
  5. abrasions
  6. gashes
  7. bumps
  8. slashes
Noun
  • While melamine sponges are certainly effective cleaning tools, they are also considered an abrasive material and can leave fine scratches all across your stainless steel appliances.
    — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 28 Sep. 2026
  • An infected animal can spread rabies to humans and other animals through bites, scratches or oral secretions.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of scratches
Noun
  • The visits mainly addressed dehydration, minor cuts and scrapes and pre-existing medical conditions.
    — Ruby Grisin, Louisville Courier Journal, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Such play could have caused superficial abrasions and scrapes, offering the bacterium an opening.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of scrapes
Verb
  • Penal Code 597 states that any person who who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal is guilty of a crime.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The kitchen wounds him, heals him, and becomes his crucible of faith.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 July 2026
Definition of wounds
Noun
  • The shattered glass allegedly caused multiple small lacerations to the victim's face, which were visible to officers during the report, along with multiple contusions to the face.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The warrant states an autopsy found Murphy had contusions on her body in various stages of healing.
    — KC Baker, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of contusions
Noun
  • The York features espresso feet and comes upholstered in the retailer’s contract-grade Performance Everyday Velvet, which promises to repel liquids and resist abrasions of daily life.
    — Maria Conti, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Oatmeal was found extremely wounded as an injured stray with abrasions, wounds and bruising all along his back legs.
    — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of abrasions
Verb
  • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made similar claims in television interviews in early July, saying on Fox News that vandals left gashes totaling 350 feet.
    — Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 16 July 2026
  • The front lid appears to be barely hanging on by a thread, with cuts and gashes throughout.
    — Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of gashes
Noun
  • Memory is not so much a flow, sometimes, as a series of bumps and scrapes.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Durant dismissed the campaign entirely, pivoting instead to the WNBA's recent sneaker deals and revenue bumps, not addressing the core issue of biological males entering female leagues.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of bumps
Verb
  • The company wants Starship to be a fully and rapidly reusable transport system that slashes the cost of spaceflight.
    — Sven Bilén, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026
  • This setup slashes solvent consumption by 40 percent and cuts the equipment footprint by more than half.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of slashes

Browse Nearby Words

bruised
bruises
bruising
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Cite this Entry

“Bruises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bruises. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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