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
Relevance
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
Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
In early March, a woman found bruises, scratches and a puncture wound on her 8-year-old autistic son after a day at his Christian school in Hialeah.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Images of Al-Mousawi’s body covered in bruises and lesions on his face, feet and torso filled social media feeds.
—Jane Lytvynenko, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026
At least two of the children were found with bruises, court documents show.
—Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
When the baby was rescued, her head was bandaged, and she was covered with dirt and bruises.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Each day before filming, Miranda sat for between three and five hours while makeup artists applied full-body tattoos, bruises and scars.
—Karla León, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026
When used for bruises or swelling, arnica gel can work within a few hours to two days.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
The students sustained minor scrapes and bruises in the crash, per the assistant principal.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
Noun
The man suffered cuts and bruises from the fall and was taken to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center for observation.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
In early March, a woman found bruises, scratches and a puncture wound on her 8-year-old autistic son after a day at his Christian school in Hialeah.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Images of Al-Mousawi’s body covered in bruises and lesions on his face, feet and torso filled social media feeds.
—Jane Lytvynenko, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026
At least two of the children were found with bruises, court documents show.
—Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
When the baby was rescued, her head was bandaged, and she was covered with dirt and bruises.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Each day before filming, Miranda sat for between three and five hours while makeup artists applied full-body tattoos, bruises and scars.
—Karla León, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026
When used for bruises or swelling, arnica gel can work within a few hours to two days.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
The students sustained minor scrapes and bruises in the crash, per the assistant principal.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bruises
Noun
-
Aloe vera, for example, will always remind me of my grandmother, who grew the the medicinal plant to sooth my sunburns and scratches.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Just a few scratches on the shoulder.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Rappers have been using scrapes with violence and death as promotional material forever.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The students sustained minor scrapes and bruises in the crash, per the assistant principal.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Chops, gouges, wounds it like the shadow grooves on the sidewalks—the sun is setting earlier.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Her injuries included possible lower and upper extremity fractures, along with abrasions and contusions to the head, squad officials said.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Apr. 2026
-
There, they were treated for cuts, bruises, contusions and concussions, TMZ previously reported.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Her injuries included possible lower and upper extremity fractures, along with abrasions and contusions to the head, squad officials said.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Even the daily abrasions of living in New York, including Fox’s forays into the mind-numbing night life, seem unexpectedly pedestrian.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The front lid appears to be barely hanging on by a thread, with cuts and gashes throughout.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Heupel spreads out his receivers in an attempt to spread out the defense, then gashes them with the run.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That dream would eventually come true, but not without some bumps in the road.—
Alexandra Schonfeld,
PEOPLE,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Wherever creator Lee Sung Jin took the concept next, a bitter rivalry would presumably be its driving force, just as Wong and Yeun’s searing anti-platonic chemistry powered Season 1 through some tonal bumps and big swings.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The proposal slashes funding to the agency’s science program by 46 percent—a cut similar to what had been proposed in the president’s budget request for the current fiscal year.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Through careful tuning of an extended Kalman filter and by taking advantage of bamboo’s natural vibration-damping properties, the system slashes control latency from 15–20 milliseconds down to just 8–10 milliseconds, enhancing responsiveness while keeping flight stable.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bruises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bruises. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
