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
  • Her entire face got licked clean off her head when suburban floodwaters breached the cardboard hull protecting Kath’s basement memorabilia stack a few months before I was born.
    — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There’s truly nothing like licking that paper lid, then shoveling that tiny tongue depressor into a child-sized serving of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of lick
Verb
  • Reports that federal immigration enforcement agencies have accessed Flock data, dozens of officers have abused the system to stalk women, and police have logged hundreds of searches related to protest activity sparked successive waves of backlash.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Instead, the Children's Trust was used and abused by the Kittrells for exclusively their own purposes and in fact the Kittrells treat the trust assets for nearly all purposes as their own.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Though males are wingless and females can fly short distances, that reproductive efficiency — combined with its tiny size and penchant for hiding in wood — has supercharged a rapid spread across South Africa.
    — Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Bosch reminded the public to lock their vehicles and hide valuables, noting that thieves often scan for unlocked cars by looking for extended side mirrors.
    — Peter D'Oench, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of hide
Verb
  • New arrival Maghnes Akliouche adds another attacking option this summer, while the signing of Lucas Digne from Villa gives this particular fixture an early subplot, with the full-back facing his old club straight out of the gate.
    — Dean Jones, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The woman was in the Silver River in Marion County, just south of Gainesville, when she was attacked on the arm on Saturday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of attack
Verb
  • Even the region's major interstate highway, I-70, was partly shut down after a section of it buckled under the weight of pounding rain.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The robust menu aims to satiate hungry tourists who’ve spent long hours pounding the black sampietrini cobblestones of the vast open-air museum that is the Eternal City.
    — Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of pound
Verb
  • Lying in wait means a suspect waited for or hid from victims in order to ambush them, and as an allegation it’s meant to show premeditation.
    — Andrew Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
  • While there was a period of harmony between the two coasts, that imploded after Shakur was ambushed at a Times Square recording studio in November 1994.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of ambush
Verb
  • Powerful winds and lashing rain flipped over a truck in Zhejiang’s Wenzhou, a video posted on TikTok on Sunday showed.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Earlier this month, Kennedy lashed out during an interview on CNN over vaccine and public health policies.
    — Daniel Payne, STAT, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of lash
Verb
  • His hands and ability to manhandle blockers made him among the best defensive players in the West Valley League.
    — Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 31 July 2026
  • During this stretch, the Colts will face three AFC opponents, including the Steelers, who manhandled them last year and forced Jones to commit a career-high five turnovers in a loss.
    — James Boyd, New York Times, 15 May 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 14 Aug. 2026.

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