1
as in licked
to strike repeatedly
she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in abused
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 roughed (up)
Verb
-
Show Viz Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest had counter-attacking licked.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025 -
The afternoon sun licked the windscreen of the car, and the heat boiled my skin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The individuals Trump is calling out, the White House and its MAGA allies say, abused their power to keep him from returning to the presidency.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The complaints are wrenching by any measure – boys and girls as young as 8 who claim they were targeted, molested and otherwise abused by county Health and Human Services Agency workers.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Palestinians flee new offensive Mirna Alsharif Thousands of Palestinians fled northern Gaza with their belongings as Israel forces pounded the enclave's largest city.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Coen repeatedly pounded his chest, seemingly signaling that Lawrence needed to hit his receivers lower.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
At least four people were killed and eight were injured after a gunman attacked a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints service in Michigan on Sunday morning, police said.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy and Odesa were also attacked, President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
At least 12 people died as heavy rain lashed the eastern Indian city of Kolkata and surrounding areas ahead of a major festival, flooding streets, disrupting transport and leaving residents stranded for hours, officials said Wednesday.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Videos posted to social media from residents in Taiwan showed huge swells, rough seas and strong winds as Ragasa’s outer bands lashed the island.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Pats got manhandled by Mother Nature and the Dolphins over a 20-7 loss played out under 90-degree temperatures.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The Tigers then manhandled Ball State.—
Tom Layberger,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Folding whipped topping gently into the pudding mixture keeps the filling fluffy and mousse-like.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Let’s look at one of his near-misses on Sunday, when the Panthers played a remarkably good game and whipped Atlanta, 30-0, in their home opener.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Upon booting up the game and working through a pretty robust character creator, players arrive in Lumiose City and are immediately ambushed by a content creator/social media manager working for the corporation Quasartico, Inc.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The deadliest attack on the press recorded by the CPJ was the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines, in which 32 journalists were among those killed when a convoy was ambushed.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
20 Sep. 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.
Cite this Entry
“Roughed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughed%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share