as in stung
to charge (someone) too much for goods or services
since I had forgotten the sunscreen, I was forced to buy it from the concession stand at the beach—where they gouged me for it
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Recent Examples of gouged
Successive hurricanes had gouged a hole in the Sunshine State, leaving several private carriers insolvent — and leaving hundreds of thousands of their customers with no choice but Citizens.
—
Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2025
But a low spot in the ocean, a channel gouged down into the sand on the ocean surface, or a break in a sandbar, can disrupt that flow and push water through the spot to create a current much more powerful than the surrounding flow.
—Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
The greedy people will get theirs when people get fed up with being gouged at every turn.
—Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025
Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2025
But a low spot in the ocean, a channel gouged down into the sand on the ocean surface, or a break in a sandbar, can disrupt that flow and push water through the spot to create a current much more powerful than the surrounding flow.
—Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
The greedy people will get theirs when people get fed up with being gouged at every turn.
—Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gouged
Verb
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While basic first aid can often ease the pain of a bee sting, according to the Mayo Clinic, those who are stung more than a dozen times can experience a more severe reaction, which includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and lightheadedness.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Considering that one cocktail could cost one hour of some employees’ wages, the removal of that free drink benefit stung even more, Quimby and Reber told Deadline.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The fractures within the group, however — with some of the cast siding with Ariana Madix (who’d been cheated on), and others agreeing to film with Tom Sandoval (who had cheated) — made filming for Season 11 mostly unsustainainable.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
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Overall, prosecutors allege the nearly three-dozen defendants cheated unfortunate players out of at least $7 million.—
Ben Brachfeld,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Thermal runaway, or self-heating, can occur without warning in lithium batteries as a result of various factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged or improperly packed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
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That same year, millions of plaintiffs filed an antitrust class action lawsuit seeking over $1 billion in damages that alleged Sutter Health overcharged customers and companies for health care bills and discouraged clients from using other lower-cost services.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His fiction, neither notably blood-soaked nor mythologically freighted, also differs starkly from the work of Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy, contemporaries who likewise were famously steeped in the West.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
30 Oct. 2025
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Elsewhere, Kaufman heads into the water sans waterproofing, gray corduroy suit and gingham shirt soaked.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gouged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gouged. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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