clouts 1 of 2

noun

plural of clout
1
as in blows
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument gave the stubborn handle a solid clout to make it turn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in influences
the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly has a great deal of clout in the film industry

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

clouts

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of clout
as in slaps
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner clouted the nail with the hammer and drove it all the way into the wood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clouts
  1. blows
  2. influences
  3. slaps
  4. punches
  5. hits
  6. thumps
  7. smacks
  8. thuds
Noun
  • Holloway, even a Holloway who is nearing the end of his career with a somewhat suspect chin and ability to absorb heavy blows, wins this fight more times than not.
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
  • Rolling with the punches, though, is harder when the blows keep landing on the starting rotation.
    — Jesús Cano, New York Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of blows
Noun
  • The culture, food and music of Cape Verde is a blend of African and Portuguese influences, and life moves at a relaxed pace.
    — Kathleen Peddicord, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
  • Food and drink Offering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and room service, Casa Gangotena specializes in cocina mestiza, which reflects the Indigenous, European, American, and African influences that have shaped Ecuadorian cuisine.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
Definition of influences
Verb
  • Wilhelm enters the room, removes most of his clothing and gets into bed with her, slaps her, pushes her away and then caresses her face and cradles her.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
  • That direct relationship is what separates a true farm to table operation from a restaurant that simply slaps the phrase on a marketing page.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026
Definition of slaps
Noun
  • The poster also alleged Martinez was the one acting racist and had thrown the spice tajín in her face before any punches were thrown.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Members of Rita's loyalty program who use the Rita’s Ice app will get double loyalty punches with a purchase of the treat.
    — Mike Snider, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of punches
Verb
  • Lightning hits the United States approximately 25 million times annually.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 July 2026
  • When a large body hits, some of the impact energy goes into vaporizing or melting rock right at the impact site.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 5 July 2026
Definition of hits
Noun
  • Agents yelled from every direction, and the thumps of a news helicopter overhead were deafening.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
  • You’ll be thrown around in your seat, which moves in sync with the action, along with thumps in the back, splashes of water, blasts of air, smoke, and flashes of light.
    — Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 21 May 2026
Definition of thumps
Verb
  • The boy smacks him in the mouth and then immediately starts crying.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 28 Apr. 2026
  • An attack rears its ugly head, and the security team smacks it down.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of smacks
Noun
  • Rapp, up on Taft Point, heard two thuds.
    — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Likewise, the score by Tony Doogan leans too heavily on generic electronic thuds, the kind that segue into a commercial break cliffhanger and an ad for blood pressure medicine.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of thuds
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

clouting
clouts
cloverleaf
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clouts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clouts. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on clouts

Nglish: Translation of clouts 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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fulcrum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

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
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All