rough (up)

verb

Definition of rough (up)next
1
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to abuse
to abuse physically the photographer claimed that he had been roughed up by the actor's bodyguards outside the club

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough (up)
  1. lick
  2. abuse
  3. hide
  4. attack
  5. pound
  6. ambush
  7. lash
  8. manhandle
Verb
  • After contracting the plague, he was banished to a cave, where a dog brought him bread and healed his wounds by licking them.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
  • But the lively crew at the urinals was already licking its lips in anticipation.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of lick
Verb
  • After teenage boys first reported that they had been abused in 2005, Church of the Resurrection conducted an internal investigation that court records show was inconclusive.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Acton’s campaign on Tuesday posted a video of her brother, who supported her backstory about living in a tent and being abused.
    — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • If a suspicious sample directly reduces a model’s reward, the model could learn to hide its behavior instead of correcting it.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The Kettle Moraine State Forest is right at our edge, and there are nooks and crannies where something could hide.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of hide
Verb
  • Egypt's president sought to reassure the public that the country wouldn't attack Yemen, and that the military support is limited to defending Saudi territory.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Back in 2023, Stevens revealed he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome—a rare auto-immune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves—and was working to relearn how to walk and use his hands.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of attack
Verb
  • A little girl pounding her fists and screaming; none of the visitors nor the staff were allowed to hold her to provide comfort.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The Pistons pounded the inside and scored 24 second-chance points.
    — Dan Gelston, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of pound
Verb
  • Horace hopes the goal of the Salvadoran reinforcements isn’t solely to find the Salvadoran soldiers ambushed by the Chen Mechan gang.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Al-Shabab said its fighters ambushed a convoy advancing into territory under its control.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambush
Verb
  • The snake tried to circle and squeeze, but the rat lashed with her claws and teeth.
    — Madeline ffitch, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026
  • News of the briefing leaked, and the senators lashed out at the FBI, saying their efforts to scrutinize the Biden family had been discredited and falsely linked to Russian disinformation.
    — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of lash
Verb
  • An Osceola County deputy sheriff was arrested this week, accused of manhandling a 67-year-old woman and falsely charging her with battering him during an early-morning traffic stop, the Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
    — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
  • He got stuffed by double-team blocks and turned away by larger Toronto wings, who manhandled the slighter forward in his attempts to create downhill momentum.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of manhandle
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

roughs (up)
rough (up)
rouging
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rough (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough%20%28up%29. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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