1
as in abuses
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 licks
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 mauls
Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
Martin mauls Arlington in 8-6A Arlington Martin got 20 points from Steven Reynolds III and 18 more from Levi Moore as the Warriors blasted Arlington 92-46 in a District 8-6A game on Thursday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mauls
Verb
-
Malware often abuses them to take control of your device.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Feb. 2026
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As a child, Heathcliff’s main tormenter is Cathy’s brother, Hindley, who physically abuses Heathcliff and forces him to work in the stables as a servant.—
Becky Little,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then, Mitski licks up the blood on the girl’s finger.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
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After the drill, Ruin rolls onto his back, then licks a reporter's nose.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The disease occurs when babies ingest botulism spores that germinate in the intestine and produce a dangerous toxin that attacks the nervous system.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Symptoms of measles, a virus that attacks the lungs and airways, can include fever, cough, a blotchy rash, and red, watery eyes.—
Andrew Jones,
CNN Money,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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James is staring into the middle distance while Luka pounds the air out of the Spalding for twenty seconds per possession.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
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In the present, Simon (now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) pounds his car’s steering wheel, driving away from wreckage.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There’s Xi Jinping mogging Bibi Netanyahu while deafeningly aggro phonk bludgeons away; hype montages paint Marx as history’s greatest theorist and pair Zohran Mamdani quotes with Playboi Carti Die Lit cuts.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
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Benbrook whips Diamond Hill-Jarvis Benbrook stayed on pace for a playoff berth in District 8-4A as the Lady Bobcats thumped Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis 55-7.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Other sufferers, however, who submitted entries to the 1983 Migraine Art Competition, depicted their pain in drawings and paintings of nails, needles, axes, ice picks, arrows, bolts, jaws, chisels, shivs, guns, red-hot spears, sledgehammers, devils, and long pins.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
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Investigators allege the men used sledgehammers to break the store's front door, steal almost $11,000 worth of merchandise and then use a U-Haul pickup truck to escape.—
Tom Dougherty,
CBS News,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the skin matures, pores become larger, but Laura Mercier’s Flawless Fusion Ulta-Longwear Concealer effectively hides them.—
Taryn Brooke,
Glamour,
6 Mar. 2026
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And so the buffalo were butchered and sold for their tongues and hides, and their bones were ground and used for fine china.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mauls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mauls. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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