roughing (up)

verb

present participle of rough (up)
1
as in licking
to strike repeatedly she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in abusing
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 roughing (up)
  1. licking
  2. abusing
  3. pounding
  4. attacking
  5. hiding
  6. manhandling
  7. lashing
  8. mauling
Verb
  • Dubiously sourced accounts followed of Australians who died after drinking toad tea and a man supposedly being imprisoned in South America on toad-licking charges.
    — Kimon de Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There’s truly nothing like licking that paper lid, then shoveling that tiny tongue depressor into a child-sized serving of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • Before his recent arrest, Habib had a history of substantiated misconduct complaints about excessive force and abusing his authority.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Hostile SIMs can enter the wild through infected SIM software updates, rogue cellular operators abusing remote management platforms, or supply-chain tampering during manufacturing.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of abusing
Verb
  • Then, in the meditation hall, our cheery host suddenly turned serious and began pounding on a 350-year-old drum from a samurai castle used for marking the beginning of chores.
    — Pico Iyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Lala is no longer a hurricane, but the tropical storm is drenching Hawaii with sideways rain, hurricane-force gusts and pounding surf, flooding rivers and triggering mudslides.
    — Alexa St. John, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • So too are there similarities to the Brentford side that came up under Thomas Frank, given their set-piece credentials and attacking variety.
    — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Fishback has been aggressively attacking Donalds over his politics and his race while holding rallies across the state drawing crowds of young men motivated by his hard-right campaign promises.
    — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • Filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain crafts a taut supernatural drama that dissects the patriarchy hiding beneath the veneer of a fairytale wedding.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Then there are all the people hiding in the hills, and those who have taken refuge in the homes of Moroccan relatives in Ceuta.
    — Miguel Macias, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • But this year’s edition could be the best one yet, and the Wolverines will get a chance to prove that next week in Indianapolis after manhandling Tennessee 95-62 yesterday at the United Center to clinch a spot in the Final Four.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
  • The Illini literally soaked in the celebration Thursday night after manhandling hometown favorite Houston to advance to the Elite 8 for the second time in three years.
    — Ryan Baker, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
Definition of manhandling
Verb
  • Powerful winds and lashing rain flipped over a truck in Zhejiang’s Wenzhou, a video posted on TikTok on Sunday showed.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The president has responded to the MAGA criticism by lashing out repeatedly at dissenters, prompting Greene – once a top Trump supporter – not to run for reelection and Massie to lose his primary.
    — Zac Anderson, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • While the left guard competition remains open, Jones has been on the first string for over a week since replacing Connor Colby, and Jones stood out with an aggressive, mauling nature against the Titans.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Gunther slowed the match down, mauling Aldis and sending him flying into the corner.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of mauling
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

roughing it
roughing (up)
rough it
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Roughing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughing%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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