See the Dictionary Definition 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pistol-whipping
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Kazmierczak initially pleaded not guilty to one count of assaulting a United States officer.—
Ava Kelley,
NBC news,
7 May 2026
-
Nationwide, large numbers of federal cases have fallen apart after prosecutors charged protesters, government critics, immigrants and others arrested at messy demonstrations during immigration operations with assaulting or interfering with officers.—
Brian Rokos,
Daily News,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Lee was arrested April 3 in the 9300 block of Cicero Avenue after punching a man at a nearby gas station, police said.—
Dennis Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
-
Nilan and Miller spent a lot of those minutes punching each other, Nilan as a Canadien and Miller as a Bruin, during the 1980s iteration of the ancient rivalry.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Fitz also has some stiff competition in the attacking midfield.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
7 May 2026
-
Trump and his allies are attacking democracy itself, from the rights to protest and exist freely to the rights to fair jobs and livable wages.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Among the plaintiffs, two protesters faced minor charges that were quickly dropped—each accused of impeding a federal officer for slapping the agent’s phone from their hand—while the other two were charged with no crimes at all.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
7 May 2026
-
That meant a pre-existing zero-tariff trade environment for exporters on both sides of the Atlantic was overridden, slapping new duties onto Scotch whisky and other spirits sent to America from Britain.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Chicago rookie Munetaka Murakami became the first player in major league history to homer in the first game of eight straight series, smacking a solo shot off Emerson Hancock (3-1) in the first.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
-
Chicago rookie Munetaka Murakami became the first player in major league history to homer in the first game of eight straight series, smacking a solo shot off Emerson Hancock (3-1) in the first.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
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
Verb
-
The verbal jousting restarted as public members sought to take the reins of these working groups before federal members cut in to suggest that public members were boxing federal members out of any leadership position.—
O. Rose Broderick,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Rock Steady Boxing by MAPS is about more than just boxing.—
Mary Eber,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Pistol-whipping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pistol-whipping. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
