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
  • Tuxedo kitten Paolina bounced onto my chest and licked my fingers.
    — Solvej Schou, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of licked
Verb
  • Macedo wrote a letter to Steve Kawa, the chair of the authority’s board, ahead of the meeting saying that Choudri had misused taxpayer money and abused public trust.
    — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Krems said the nanny, Chun-May Lee, who allegedly abused the children, was quickly fired.
    — Austin Turner, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • But the boat overtook me, pounded at me as if asking me not to leave it.
    — Gerald R. Hunter, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Prices have surged as Ukraine has pounded Russian refineries and Iran and its Houthi allies have attacked energy facilities around the Persian Gulf.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of pounded
Verb
  • Shortly after, Iran attacked commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz, unraveling the precarious cease-fire the country had struck with the United States three months earlier.
    — Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Russia also attacked warehouse facilities in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region on Friday, wounding three people, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said on Telegram.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • Over the weekend, Hurricane Simon lashed at the country's Pacific Coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
    — Adrian Florido, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026
  • San Diego lashed 30 of his 88 pitches for fouls, as Misiorowski’s command and velocity escaped him in the second inning.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of lashed
Verb
  • Being manhandled at home by a team with the sport’s sixth-lowest payroll is a negative.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 1 Oct. 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 manhandled
Verb
  • After learning that Manchester whipped Maggie with a cat-o’-nine-tails, Lizzie agrees to help the Borden family’s maid kill her.
    — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
  • That sort of whipped, inswinging ball from Slater that caused so much havoc is hugely familiar to avid Premier League watchers.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of whipped
Verb
  • Shot in the Canary Islands, Doom Scroll watches as a family’s Passover Seder is ambushed by intruders hungry for revenge, viral fame and power.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The White Sox ambushed Houston ace Hunter Brown in a four-run first inning.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 1 Oct. 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
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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 16 Oct. 2026.

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