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
  • Later, a woman protractedly licks blue ice cream from a cone, her attempts thwarted by ferocious gusts of wind and sand.
    — Matilda Hague, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Food stands also debuted that year, with ribs sizzling along with the blues licks.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 9 June 2026
Definition of licks
Verb
  • Detectives will continue investigating these cases aggressively, and anyone who abuses their position with a child will be held accountable.
    — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 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
  • Part of the problem is that every summer, water pounds down on sidewalks in the Treasure Valley, drops rippling on glassy reflective surfaces, all because of sprinkler jets overshooting the grass and landing on pavement.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Ukraine pounds Russia with long-range strikes At the same time, Ukraine has shifted the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities that have caused fuel shortages across Russia.
    — Volodymyr Yurchuk, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounds
Verb
  • The hydrogen peroxide treatment then attacks the remaining dye-cotton linkages and removes residual color.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The stories of two high schoolers, Jules and Quinn, entwine on May 1, the day a serial killer attacks one of them.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of attacks
Verb
  • The expansion will take players to the brand new realm of Letten — an idyllic land of rural tradition that hides a dark secret just below the surface.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Who’s flaunting their skeletal frame and who hides a bit behind a couture wall of feathers?
    — Marti Noxon, HollywoodReporter, 26 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
  • Dovile, who calmly accepts her parents’ divorce when it’s announced to her, lashes out in school by attacking a boy for calling Ukrainians Nazis.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The best mascaras for older women help coat lashes with color while addressing the annoying issues that come with age.
    — Micaela English, Glamour, 14 Aug. 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 28 Aug. 2026.

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