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
Scheffler pushed his drive into the right fairway bunker on the par-4, could only advance the ball 54 yards into the left rough and gouged his third shot short of the green.
—
John Marshall, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2026
After getting gouged repeatedly by bootleg play-action passes, screens and space plays over their first two series, the Pats struck back with a short-yardage stop and forced fumble on the next two series.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
At Dia, the cage has been reconstructed in full, complete with Hsieh’s boots and his tally marks gouged into the wall.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
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
To the left of the falls, gouged halfway up the cliff face, was a cave.
—Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
John Marshall, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2026
After getting gouged repeatedly by bootleg play-action passes, screens and space plays over their first two series, the Pats struck back with a short-yardage stop and forced fumble on the next two series.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
At Dia, the cage has been reconstructed in full, complete with Hsieh’s boots and his tally marks gouged into the wall.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
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
To the left of the falls, gouged halfway up the cliff face, was a cave.
—Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gouged
Verb
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The Cowboys have also reiterated that the loss of Jourdan Lewis stung them this season.—
Joseph Hoyt,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
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Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.—
Enda Curran,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
McMann hunted, but never cheated, for offence.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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Experts say such scam operations in Cambodia and elsewhere have cheated people around the world out of billions of dollars and tricked people from many countries to work in them under slave-like conditions.—
Sakchai Lalit,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Instead of swift passage on Wednesday, the proposal has become a new flashpoint in a sensitive discussion over police-community relations, with some event organizers questioning why community groups who feel overcharged by the police should have to appeal to the same department for subsidies.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
6 Feb. 2026
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The lawsuit alleges diabetic Iowans have been overcharged millions of dollars a year and cut off from affordable insulin.—
Kyle Werner,
Des Moines Register,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The bitter bunch contains high levels of toxic alkaloids and must be soaked for several days to ensure safe consumption.—
Randi Gollin,
Martha Stewart,
15 Feb. 2026
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This clip-on gloss was also super nourishing—like instantly soaked into my parched pout in a way that my actual lip balm does not.—
Jessie Quinn,
StyleCaster,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gouged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gouged. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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