pistol-whipping

verb

present participle of pistol-whip
as in strapping

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pistol-whipping
  1. flagellating
  2. assaulting
  3. punching
  4. attacking
  5. slapping
  6. smacking
  7. thwacking
  8. boxing
Verb
  • Some go further, flagellating themselves or using a sword to strike their forehead to draw blood.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2026
  • His only way of finding any kind of life for himself is to embrace evil, to stop running away from it, to try to stop morally flagellating himself.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of flagellating
Verb
  • Regan has been accused of threatening and intimidating women who worked for the union’s parent organization, and of physically assaulting one, according to reporting by The Times.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • During a recent walk-through with city officials, an encampment resident asked for help after witnessing people entering the encampment and assaulting and robbing residents.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • Bella chews him out for punching Angus in the face right before Angus’s big presentation, which Johnny knew about because they were supposed to throw a return supper for him, a dinner Johnny was supposed to cook.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Castro whips her head around and follows him, punching him in the back.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of punching
Verb
  • The rapid spread of Ebola has been aided from the onset by widespread skepticism among locals who have dismissed the disease as a hoax, even attacking health workers and health facilities on multiple occasions.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
  • When ingested, the mixture could lead to infection with a bacterium that carries the nerve-attacking toxins that botulism is known for.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • Iran has tried to push world energy prices higher with attacks on the region's oil shipping routes; the United States, in turn, has aimed to wreck Iran's economy by blockading its ports since June and slapping it with increasingly tough sanctions.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The officers walked over to the man and told him to place his hands behind his back, slapping him in cuffs in front of customers and coworkers.
    — Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of slapping
Verb
  • Carrington was ejected from the game in the first half after smacking Cunningham across the face during Cunningham's layup attempt.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Catcher Daniel Susac followed up Wednesday’s two-home-run game by smacking a two-run shot, and the Giants bullpen didn’t break down while protecting a 4-1 victory.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of smacking
Verb
  • Modern readers may take heart in the fact that there are many excellent critics thwacking through the slop—albeit with freelance machetes, on newfangled platforms.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Max Weinberg sat at his set, thwacking his floor tom, while Lahav fiddled with his dials, stalked into the studio to unplug, replug, and then just physically move the microphone closer to the set, then to the side, and then farther away.
    — Peter Ames Carlin, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Definition of thwacking
Verb
  • Adam Rodriguez as Ruben Chapa, a trainer at the local El Centro boxing gym.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Eubank Jr was seven years older than Benn, five years further into his professional career and, more pertinently, boxing at middleweight, three weight classes higher than super-lightweight Benn.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of boxing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pistol-whipped
pistol-whipping
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Cite this Entry

“Pistol-whipping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pistol-whipping. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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