roughed (up)

verb

past tense of rough (up)
1
as in licked
to strike repeatedly she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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)
  1. licked
  2. abused
  3. pounded
  4. attacked
  5. lashed
  6. manhandled
  7. whipped
  8. ambushed
Verb
  • Unfortunately for us, those tenants have evolved a sticky knack for evading eviction, creating a webbing known as biofilm that prevents them from being easily licked or swallowed away.
    — Mike McRae, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Meanwhile, as hip-house took hold Stateside, those who had licked a new sonic language weren’t going to sit a profitable wave out.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of licked
Verb
  • State judges who take these cases look for proof that applicants cannot safely return to their home country, have been abused, abandoned or neglected by one or both parents, and that reunification with a parent is not possible.
    — Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Travis Kelce, a future Hall of Fame selection who abused the Dolphins earlier this season, capitalizing on a handful of the players where Taaffe was responsible for his coverage.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • Each is a spectacular blend of Spanish, African, and Indigenous ingredients and techniques—garlic, onion, peppers, and herbs pounded in a wooden mortar and pestle with Taíno roots called a pilón, binding the island’s ancestral and colonial cultures.
    — Von Diaz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Valuations have been pounded to multi-year lows on persistent worry that current profits are unsustainable and the group remains vulnerable to any slowdown in data-center builds.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of pounded
Verb
  • Once in sight of land at last, the ship is attacked (by the French, as this is during the French and Indian War), with consequences falling hardest on the Clems.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Second, during a July test, OpenAI agents attacked Hugging Face systems in a move unrelated to its task.
    — Stephen Pitt-Walker, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • When the gales of November came early, as the song goes, large waves and intense wind lashed the ship on her final voyage.
    — Ahmad Bajjey, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Heavy rains lashed the Gaza Strip, flooding tents and intensifying the misery of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of lashed
Verb
  • 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
  • The Dallas Cowboys were manhandled by the Green Bay Packers 23-13 on Sunday night to drop to 2-4 this season.
    — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of manhandled
Verb
  • Now comes Denver, which whipped the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 because Carolina couldn’t handle the Broncos’ pass rush.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The Falcons’ starting quarterback twirled a black string around his finger, then violently whipped it down after his first interception.
    — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of whipped
Verb
  • The vote took place almost three months to the day after four police officers in their squad cars wrongfully ambushed my wife and me after using Flock cameras to track us for days.
    — Joel Feder, The Drive, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The men were returning to camp from a visit to a supermarket when they were ambushed by armed gang members east of Port-au-Prince.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of ambushed
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

roughed it
roughed (up)
roughen
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Roughed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughed%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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