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)
Verb
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Mitch West, meanwhile, was licking his wounds on Monday night, when snow still hadn’t touched down in his region of South Carolina.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026 -
England’s Test team are still licking their wounds after their humbling Down Under.—
Sam Dalling,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Construction is set to begin on a new center in Morgan Hill for abused and neglected children and their families next month.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
16 Feb. 2026
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Once installed, NexShield immediately starts abusing Chrome or Edge in the background.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This means that bills get hearings, debates happen in public, and legislators are required to vote on issues instead of hiding behind process.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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Maybe Mark Kelly and several other dissident members of Congress are hiding the sun in a big bag.—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Mobs attacked television vans and set cars ablaze as overrun hospitals struggled to cope with scores of injured people.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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The complication is not well understood but appears to be the result of the virus prompting the immune system to attack a certain protein that some brain cells produce.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But that gives us a different look and the versatility of being able to play the two of them together and pound the glass on both ends is a weapon for us.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
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That means sneakers, ideally a pair that’s durable enough to withstand pounding the pavements, will be essential to your roster of footwear.—
Natalie Hammond,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Authorities said surveillance video in the area shows Dickinson and Thompson walking together just moments before Thompson was ambushed in the middle of the street.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Given the lack of mangroves, snook in South Florida make do with boat docks, which provide protection from predators as well as sites from which to ambush smaller fish and crustaceans.—
Steve Waters,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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All testers dug the cavernous main compartment, which features stretchy crisscrossing straps that helped lash clothes down, keeping contents organized on the road.—
Drew Zieff,
Outside,
17 Feb. 2026
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Clinton, instead of delivering the usual liberal-candidate-seeks-Black-votes hominy, lashed out at her words.—
Johanna Neuman,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Social media served up a daily video deluge of heavily armed agents randomly manhandling dark-skinned people.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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The Pats manhandled Denver in the AFC Championship Game, thanks mostly to defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Rough (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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