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)
Verb
-
Gilgeous-Alexander licked his chops at what Game 1 presented.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
6 May 2026 -
When a boy had licked her neck at a party during the first week of college, a stranger!—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Roza — a woman testifying under her first name — was an aspiring model from Uzbekistan when Epstein abused her in 2009, after the plea deal and while he was supposed to be under house arrest.—
Claire Healy,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 May 2026
-
Cook was labeled a vexatious litigant in 2018 until the Idaho Supreme Court in 2021 reversed the case, finding that the court abused its discretion.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
As time ran out before the break, Clark pounded the ball to the floor in frustration and voiced some sort of grievance to her head coach, Stephanie White.—
Brian Hamilton,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
-
The recent selloff in financial services stocks pounded Amex, too; its shares are down 18% from the all-time high reached in December.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Hezbollah, the Lebanese paramilitary force, has attacked Israeli troops and targeted northern Israel with rockets and drones.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
-
While the man was being attacked, the woman used a shopping cart to fend off the suspect and protect the male victim.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
Verb
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In previous years, the 31-year-old originally from Chicago might have lashed back when accosted on the ice.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
9 May 2026
-
Lively has maintained this approach was in line with the press tactic laid out for her by Sony, but the internet quickly lashed out at her given the film’s serious subject matter.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
The $100 million price tag attached to the legal action is to make sure the city takes Brown’s allegations seriously — and ensure no one else is manhandled by the police without cause, Brown’s attorney Derek Sells of the Cochran Firm said.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Maria Wittorp, the hotel’s head concierge, said, with the haste of an auctioneer, standing in the lobby, as blazer-wearing staffers whipped by.—
Jane Bua,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
-
Real estate agents whipped out their phones to put a hard sell on anything east of I-95.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
This would be equivalent to your slow, steady and practical thought process (Mercury in Taurus) being ambushed by raw, unfiltered truths (Pluto in Aquarius).—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
-
Once there, however, they’re ambushed by the same angry writers roasting Val on social media.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Roughed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughed%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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