ROUGH UP Synonyms: 133 Similar and Opposite Words

rough (up)

verb

Definition of rough (up)

as in to lick

to strike repeatedly she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

In the post, Wouter was pictured wearing a dog cone, which is used to prevent pets from licking, chewing or scratching surgical sites or wounds.

— Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Baldwin’s post featured a video of the dog licking a cherry ice pop and looking at the rain.

— Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of lick

Verb

Meanwhile, local Church leaders hope the pope's visit will repair the Church's standing after a crushing 2021 report found that some 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.

— Joshua McElwee, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
An example of warrantless seizure could be a case in which an officer sees a dog being abused and takes the animal.

— Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of abuse

Verb

An official of Congo's ruling party UDPS, Marie-Célestin Karondwa, was attacked by unknown suspects Sunday for defending the government's measures against Ebola on a radio program and was in critical condition, according to the UDPS.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
Additionally, the agents were apparently not instructed to attack or compromise the UN website.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of attack

Verb

Moscow's forces pounded apartment buildings, offices, gas stations and data centers, among other targets.

— HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
On a hot Saturday, Pawlikowski and I revisited those heights—the slopes from which, for almost four years, starting in the spring of 1992, Serbian artillery pounded Sarajevo, which lies vulnerably cupped in the valley below.

— Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of pound

Verb

Investigators later determined the shooting happened in the area of Pontiac Lake Road and Summit Drive, where the four men were ambushed by several other men armed with assault rifles.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
The same 1-2 punch that ambushed Cambridge with 52 points in the Dave Hunter + Corky Kell Classic beat South Gwinnett on Friday 55-20.

— Jack Leo, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of ambush

Verb

Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin lashed out at Judge Judy’s remarks about unhappy Americans.

— Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026
Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms -- insulting them in briefings, or in his recent speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of lash

Verb

Hours later, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the suspension of Acosta’s press pass, and, for good measure, falsely accused him of manhandling the aide who wanted the mike back.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2026
He was brought to the prison infirmary, where numerous guards surrounded, punched, kicked, choked, dropped and manhandled him.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of manhandle

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Browse Nearby Words

roughs (up)

rough (up)

rouging

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Style

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

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Synonyms of rough (up)

verb

Example Sentences

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