rough (up)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough (up)
Verb
  • In the video, the mother dog stays close to her pup, licking him and standing over him protectively.
    Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
  • While her Nickelodeon and Disney peers have seemingly all had at least one major scandal to their names (ranging from incessant twerking and licking unpurchased donuts to near-fatal overdoses), Palmer’s celebrity was, in part, defined by her lack of verifiable scandals.
    Kyle Denis, Billboard, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • But even more terrifying than the guard dogs were those abused by local miscreants that trained dogs to fight.
    Thomas Cangelosi, Hartford Courant, 27 June 2025
  • In other words, don’t count on class actions to rein in Administrations bent on abusing the law.
    Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • The palette is a unique blend of pink, tan, and hints of blue-green that add a subtle amount of color while still hiding dirt and debris.
    Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 26 June 2025
  • Weathered and bumpy, the wall hidden among the surplus clothing stores of the Fashion District was hardly the perfect canvas.
    Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • This infection attacks your stomach lining and causes inflammation.
    Sayaka Blickenderfer, Health, 28 June 2025
  • The wild and ugly scenes saw rioters attack law enforcement with rocks and Molotov cocktails while others burned vehicles and other property.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • The left-hander got pounded a year ago and thumped again in his first taste of big-league action for eight runs in five innings against the Washington Nationals.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 26 June 2025
  • Kamala Harris pounded Joe Biden over his stances on busing from the 1970s—a long-ago dispute that even became fodder for J.D. Vance in 2024.
    Andrew Yang, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • After ambushing a group of pink guards in the quarters, the rebels, armed with guns, made their way to the colorful stairwells.
    Yasmeen Hamadeh, People.com, 27 June 2025
  • When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic’s latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair.
    Thomas Urbain, Fortune, 29 June 2025
  • The president also lashed out at economists who predicted his administration’s tariffs could cause a recession.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • Anyone who has seen the video knows that he was fully handcuffed after having been manhandled to the ground.
    The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 12 June 2025
  • Federal agents manhandled him out of the room, shoved him down onto his knees and handcuffed him.
    Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2025
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

Cite this Entry

“Rough (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough%20%28up%29. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!