maul 1 of 2

verb

Definition of maulnext
1
as in to abuse
to abuse physically demonstrators who claimed that they had been mauled by the police

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly the irate store owner was mauling the shoplifter when the police showed up

Synonyms & Similar Words

maul

2 of 2

noun

as in hammer

Related Words

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 maul
Verb
In January, a 12-year-old boy died in a hospital days after he was mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026 Also in June, a woman was mauled by a shark at one of Australia's most popular beaches in Sydney. — CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026
Noun
The half ended with the Free Jacks once again putting the Sabercats under pressure, trying to force their way over the tryline through a rolling maul, and twice failing to score. — Vitas Carosella, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025 Minutes later, Hanover scored back-to-back tries with near identical mauls down the sideline. — Marcello Rossetti, Boston Herald, 14 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for maul
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maul
  1. abuse
  2. lick
  3. hammer
  4. attack
  5. pound
  6. sledgehammer
  7. manhandle
  8. lash
Verb
  • Macedo wrote a letter to Steve Kawa, the chair of the authority’s board, ahead of the meeting saying that Choudri had misused taxpayer money and abused public trust.
    — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • There’s a sense in the gut that really gets offended by people who abuse their power.
    — Sheelah Kolhatkar, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Carter is licking his wounds after the rest of the tribe sent Ana home in a blindside.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Typically, only a low-value male resorts to this behavior, turning to foot-licking as the easiest way to ingratiate himself with women.
    — Tucker Reals, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of lick
Noun
  • Prosecutors say Widdecombe was eating lunch in her Devon home July 8, when Kerry allegedly walked through the front door, beat her 21 times in the head with a hammer, took her wallet and was gone in an attack that lasted only two minutes.
    — Tyler Speicher, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • She had been struck 21 times with a hammer, a court previously heard.
    — Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of hammer
Verb
  • The recent success of a late-stage mRNA cancer vaccine, showing the drug stopped the return of melanoma, has boosted hopes that the approach can be successfully harnessed to attack other cancers.
    — Allison DeAngelis, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In Ohio, Husted has been repeatedly attacked for his role in attracting data centers to Ohio as lieutenant governor.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of attack
Verb
  • Guadagnino has always been skilled in his choice of music (Sufjan Stevens’ alt-pop in Call Me by Your Name, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pounding EDM in Challengers).
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Still The Hairy Ape is, in one sense, a long, furious solo — a man pounding his head against a piano while accompanied by the orchestra — and Beavers ably carries its weight through to the finale.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of pound
Noun
  • Its leader, Sergei Mironov, 73, once gained headlines by posing with a symbol of brutality — a sledgehammer given to him by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Wagner mercenary leader shortly before his failed 2023 mutiny.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Whatever is decided in November, Sterling has taken a sledgehammer to his own reputation.
    — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of sledgehammer
Verb
  • Being manhandled at home by a team with the sport’s sixth-lowest payroll is a negative.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Hours later, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the suspension of Acosta’s press pass, and, for good measure, falsely accused him of manhandling the aide who wanted the mike back.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of manhandle
Verb
  • Over the weekend, Hurricane Simon lashed at the country's Pacific Coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
    — Adrian Florido, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Tropical storm-force winds began to lash the Gulf shoreline around midday, hours before Isaias was expected to make landfall between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and the city of Destin in the Florida Panhandle.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of lash

Browse Nearby Words

maudlin
maul
mauled
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Cite this Entry

“Maul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maul. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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