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
  • Some of the flames come close to licking the glass, as the wildfire blows across the tracks.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 15 July 2026
  • Signs paws have already been burned include limping, refusing to walk, licking or chewing feet, darker or damaged pads and visible blisters or redness.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • But this marks the first time someone inside the White House has been investigated for allegedly abusing that access for prediction market profits.
    — Bobby Allyn, NPR, 16 July 2026
  • Pitt has been accused of allegedly abusing Jolie and their children.
    — Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of abusing
Verb
  • For much of the ’80s, Teresa Taylor (aka Teresa Nervosa) joined up as a second drummer, pounding tribal beats beside Coffey, and became a Gen-X icon after appearing in the 1990 film Slacker.
    — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 20 July 2026
  • After pounding his drive down the final fairway, Fox hit his approach to just inside 12 feet and then dripped his birdie putt into the edge of the cup to win the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
    — Dan Zaksheske, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • Before extra time, Argentina had managed 39 touches in the attacking third.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • Hugging Face said that from its analysis, the AI agent attacking its systems seems to have acted entirely on its own, without any human initiating the attack or directing its progress.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 20 July 2026
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • Little does Sinon know, Odysseus and his men are hiding inside the horse to launch a sneak attack on Troy.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 19 July 2026
  • The philosopher Michael Sandel (Rhodes Scholar, Harvard professor) accuses elites of hiding their privilege behind spurious claims of merit.
    — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 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
  • Relentless rains were lashing Texas Hill Country on Thursday, with flash flood emergencies reported across the region, rescues ongoing and waters rising to deadly levels.
    — Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 16 July 2026
  • Julian Quinones — Mexico/Al Qadsiah (-7) Quinones took his World Cup goal tally to four by lashing a loose ball into the roof of the net against England.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • Another hiker survived a grizzly mauling on the popular Grinnell Glacier Trail just weeks later.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
  • Chris Brown was seated at the defense table in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday, poised to testify at his dog-mauling trial, when the judge declared a mistrial due to juror misconduct.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 16 June 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
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Cite this Entry

“Roughing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughing%20%28up%29. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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