roughs (up)

verb

present tense third-person singular of rough (up)
1
as in licks
to strike repeatedly she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in abuses
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 roughs (up)
  1. licks
  2. abuses
  3. pounds
  4. attacks
  5. hides
  6. tortures
  7. lashes
  8. ambushes
Verb
  • Food stands also debuted that year, with ribs sizzling along with the blues licks.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 9 June 2026
  • At one point in a dinner scene, Shields' Erika licks Joey's fingers.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026
Definition of licks
Verb
  • Before more cameras appear, your community deserves clear answers about who can search the records, how long the data stays available and what happens when someone abuses access.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
  • New York City’s child welfare agency routinely abuses its emergency power to take children from their parents without a court order, creating lifelong consequences for families, a new class-action lawsuit seeking to end the practice alleged Thursday.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
Definition of abuses
Verb
  • The first murder is a girl slicing into her slumbering mother’s neck with a hacksaw; then her brother pounds his father’s face in with a baseball bat.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Back from a hamstring injury, Teoscar Hernández rejoins a relentless Dodgers offense that pounds 17 hits and three homers in a 9-4 win over the Athletics.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of pounds
Verb
  • Sheepstealer attacks Syrax, who breaks free long enough to pick up Rhaenyra and Rhaena and carry them back to the safety of King’s Landing.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Shortly after she was diagnosed with class 3 lupus nephritis, a serious complication in which lupus attacks the kidneys.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of attacks
Verb
  • Yet the secondhand market often hides real bargains for those willing to hunt them down.
    — Damian Peach, Space.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • As recalled in the book, a group of outlaws hides out in the town of Derry while fleeing the FBI, robbing and murdering store owners and causing all-around chaos.
    — Matt Minton, Variety, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of hides
Verb
  • After Max tortures them in a mock-trial confrontation in their living room, Tom eventually tackles Max into the backyard pool.
    — Benjamin VanHoose, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026
  • On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026
Definition of tortures
Verb
  • Ukrainian officials have warned residents to guard against further strikes as Russia lashes out.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 2 July 2026
  • Continue reading … SEISMIC SUPPORT — AOC lashes out at Trump for 'betrayal' of voters after key SCOTUS immigration ruling.
    — , FOXNews.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of lashes
Verb
  • All seems lost when a group of Stormtroopers ambushes the crew, but IG-11 heroically sacrifices himself to save them.
    — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 21 May 2026
  • Thurman stars as The Bride, left for dead after her former boss and lover Bill ambushes her wedding rehearsal, shooting her in the head and stealing her unborn child.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 29 Nov. 2025
Definition of ambushes
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

roughs it
roughs (up)
rough (up)
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Cite this Entry

“Roughs (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughs%20%28up%29. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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