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

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)
  1. licked
  2. abused
  3. pounded
  4. attacked
  5. lashed
  6. manhandled
  7. whipped
  8. ambushed
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
  • Grande licked one of them, and fans were immediately outraged by the moment.
    — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 16 July 2026
Definition of licked
Verb
  • Over on Reddit and other online forums, Pitt’s return to drinking has stirred controversy, especially from people who are in recovery themselves or who grew up with loved ones who abused alcohol.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Gordon-Levitt played Neil McCormick, who was abused by the same coach, and processes it by chasing older men as a teenage rent boy.
    — Joshua Encinias, IndieWire, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • Russia has relentlessly pounded civilian areas of Ukraine, even though Moscow insists its forces target only military facilities.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Chivilli got especially pounded, surrendering three home runs.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounded
Verb
  • Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Israel attacked the country in February.
    — Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Yemen’s Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi shipping last month, attacked Saudi oil tankers this week, and are threatening to impose tolls, adding urgency to securing the waterway.
    — Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • Earlier this month, Kennedy lashed out during an interview on CNN over vaccine and public health policies.
    — Daniel Payne, STAT, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The singer also lashed out at her parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, on social media.
    — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of lashed
Verb
  • 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
  • Those ramped up after Ottawa was completely manhandled by the Canes, and never held the lead at any point in the series.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of manhandled
Verb
  • In 2017, the object flew into our solar system, whipped around the sun like a comet, and flew back out.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The blaze raged through pine forests and scrubland through the weekend, whipped by gale force winds that often prevented water-dropping planes from operating.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of whipped
Verb
  • On the day Tran was ambushed, the vehicle circled the area 16 times before the shooting, according to investigators.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Tae-ha, who is in Japan on business for Sang-gil, is ambushed by a bunch of men.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 7 Aug. 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 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All