1
as in abused
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 licked
to strike repeatedly
the irate store owner was mauling the shoplifter when the police showed up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mauled
Fueled by those eagles, Åberg has mauled the par 5s to the tune of 8 under par, two strokes better than anyone else through two days.
—
Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
Suffice it to say, sweet Amy getting mauled to death rattles everyone at the Ridge.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
There was a crisp new poster on the easel at the Werth practice facility that displayed the Big East Tournament trophy, not yet mauled in frustration and held together by tape like the regular-season version had been.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
The wild animals mauled and injured multiple cast members; in one instance, Diaz had to stop director Noel Marshall from internally bleeding.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
An Arizona mother of two was mauled to death by three dogs in a horrific attack while protecting her son outside her mother’s Southern California home.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 4 Mar. 2026
The 2000s brought Nick Jans’ The Grizzly Maze, which painted a layered, nuanced portrait of Timothy Treadwell, a man who lived alongside coastal brown bears in Katmai Alaska for thirteen summers before being mauled by a bear in 2003.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Five months after a Miami Gardens woman was mauled to death, her family is still waiting for police to tell them which dog or dogs attacked her.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
Lanning has been a borderline disaster in the CFP, getting squashed by Ohio State in 2024 and mauled by Indiana in 2025 (after dominating Texas Tech).
—Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 4 Feb. 2026
Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
Suffice it to say, sweet Amy getting mauled to death rattles everyone at the Ridge.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
There was a crisp new poster on the easel at the Werth practice facility that displayed the Big East Tournament trophy, not yet mauled in frustration and held together by tape like the regular-season version had been.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
The wild animals mauled and injured multiple cast members; in one instance, Diaz had to stop director Noel Marshall from internally bleeding.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
An Arizona mother of two was mauled to death by three dogs in a horrific attack while protecting her son outside her mother’s Southern California home.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 4 Mar. 2026
The 2000s brought Nick Jans’ The Grizzly Maze, which painted a layered, nuanced portrait of Timothy Treadwell, a man who lived alongside coastal brown bears in Katmai Alaska for thirteen summers before being mauled by a bear in 2003.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Five months after a Miami Gardens woman was mauled to death, her family is still waiting for police to tell them which dog or dogs attacked her.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
Lanning has been a borderline disaster in the CFP, getting squashed by Ohio State in 2024 and mauled by Indiana in 2025 (after dominating Texas Tech).
—Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mauled
Verb
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Other kids in the household also had been physically abused, including a 10-year-old girl who withstood routine beatings with a belt over a 22-month period, Lake County authorities discovered.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
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Fares, now 33, was allegedly abused by Rutledge from 2007 to 2010 and Simon, now 37, was allegedly abused from 2001 to 2005.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rumor has it the fashion crowd licked the shelves clean in Paris as soon as the first designs hit stores.—
Christina Holevas,
Vogue,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Of course, the flue was closed, so the fire licked up the walls, left a smell like the fall, like ancient smokehouses and dung.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In a message Monday on X, Sánchez said that so far there were no signs indicating that the plane was attacked by rebel groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
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In the early 1980s, in the full flush of revolutionary ardor and against an age-old enemy who had attacked them without provocation, the Iranian people and armed forces fought and suffered for their country.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Old timers can recall when clockwork storms pounded in the summer and drizzled in the winter.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The fort stood high above the river, where fearsome artillery was able to turn back the Union gunboats that had pounded low-lying Fort Henry into submission.—
Bill Steiden,
Des Moines Register,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Stella was torn between getting it right and being manhandled by Meredith.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The Pats manhandled Denver in the AFC Championship Game, thanks mostly to defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Trump has lashed out at a number of G7 members and NATO allies for not responding to his calls for help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, although in recent days several of them had indicated a willingness to back appropriate action to restore the key waterway to normal traffic.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
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Many Banksy fans mourned the loss of the mystery and lashed out at the news outlet.—
Laurie Kellman,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One morning in 1980, Carl Fletcher, head of one of the richest Jewish families in Long Island and owner of a local plastics factory, is ambushed and kidnapped from his driveway.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
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In the first inning, when the Tigers both waited out Pivetta and ambushed him, three of his 18 four-seam fastballs were in the strike zone.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Gulf War left Saddam Hussein in power, but weakened and dangerous, a source of regional instability for another decade—a pattern that some fear might be playing out in Iran, if the regime emerges from the war battered but no less entrenched.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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But Ukraine’s drone attacks are also forcing Moscow to deprioritize some exports and protect consumers, who have been battered by high inflation.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mauled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mauled. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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