as in to assault
to take sudden, violent action against
a remote area of the park in which gangs of hoodlums have been known to bushwhack lone joggers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bushwhack
Eventually, after nearly two hours of bushwhacking, the Indigenous Guard comes to a series of verdant cliffs rising spectacularly out of the rainforest.
—
NPR, 16 Nov. 2025
After about an hour of following bushwhacking guides and slipping over an elephant trail twisting through the undergrowth, trumpets and guttural grunts pierced through the silence.
—Chris Schalkx, AFAR Media, 20 Aug. 2025
The trail requires a fair amount of bushwhacking, steep climbs, and snaking ambles through multi-hued canyons.
—Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Deep in the night on August 4, 2018, a trio of timber cutters bushwhacked into a steep valley thick with brush, wearing headlamps and carrying a chainsaw, gas can, and a slew of felling tools.
—Nick Davidson, Outside Online, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bushwhack
NPR, 16 Nov. 2025
After about an hour of following bushwhacking guides and slipping over an elephant trail twisting through the undergrowth, trumpets and guttural grunts pierced through the silence.
—Chris Schalkx, AFAR Media, 20 Aug. 2025
The trail requires a fair amount of bushwhacking, steep climbs, and snaking ambles through multi-hued canyons.
—Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Deep in the night on August 4, 2018, a trio of timber cutters bushwhacked into a steep valley thick with brush, wearing headlamps and carrying a chainsaw, gas can, and a slew of felling tools.
—Nick Davidson, Outside Online, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bushwhack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bushwhack
Verb
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In one case about a week ago, a Hollywood Hills resident suffered minor injuries when she was assaulted by burglars after the intruders were discovered in the home.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
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In the course of the narrative, as John is embraced by friends and assaulted by strangers, Jones’s storytelling veers between breakthroughs and setbacks with a rhythm so mechanical as to verge on metronomic.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Clayton Peavey, 31, used a concrete brick to attack a Chick-fil-A employee in March, leaving her with several gashes on her head and requiring stitches.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2026
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Mendoza is accurate to all three levels of the field and has developed a great understanding of when and where to attack down the field.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The company had its offices raided and several bank accounts frozen, according to Malaysian business publication The Edge.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
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Separately, police in Moscow raided the offices of the prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021.—
Dasha Litvinova,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The violence then shifted to Brookhaven, where Mathews was ambushed and shot several times outside a business center.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
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Some residents say frustrations over the guard eased after two members of the West Virginia contingent were ambushed just blocks from the White House, killing Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and severely injuring her colleague.—
Gary Fields,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Certainly, classmates know the perpetrators, as do some parents who have stormed at least one school board session seeking answers.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
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An invading army of tens of thousands of soldiers led by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, an influential commander and later dictator of Rome, stormed the town’s walls with slings and catapults.—
Taylor Mitchell Brown,
Scientific American,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The incident was captured on camera by a freelance news videographer and appeared to show Evans acting calm and raising his hands in the air when an officer fired a bean bag round that struck him in the stomach, dropping him to the ground.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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The employee was taking an order in the drive-through line when Peavey approached her from behind and struck her with the brick.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bushwhack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bushwhack. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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