Synonyms of shellacking

shellacking 1 of 2

noun

shə-ˈla-kiŋ 

as in defeat

failure to win a contest

suffered a shellacking at the hands of a vastly superior opposition

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defeat
• loss
• beating
• setback
• rout
• drubbing
• whipping
• trimming
• licking
• overthrow
• plastering
• trouncing
• failure
• collapse
• upset
• fiasco
• debacle
• lump
• flop
• shutout
• washout
• whitewash
• lurch
• fizzle
• nonsuccess

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• victory
• success
• triumph
• win
• accomplishment
• achievement
• blowout
• sweep
• landslide
• runaway
• romp
• walkover
• cakewalk
• walkaway

shellacking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of shellac

as in whipping

to defeat by a large margin

the local football team was shellacked 35-0 in their final outing for the season

Synonyms & Similar Words

• whipping
• bombing
• drubbing
• overcoming
• thrashing
• burying
• upsetting
• pasting
• dusting
• beating
• trouncing
• throwing
• routing
• flattening
• whopping
• trimming
• whupping
• taking
• waxing
• smothering
• mastering
• blowing away
• annihilating
• creaming
• topping
• smoking
• walloping
• skinning
• overwhelming
• clobbering
• whomping
• skunking
• sweeping
• surpassing
• exceeding
• succeeding
• scoring
• destroying
• beating the pants off
• running circles around
• conquering
• eating alive
• wiping the floor with
• crushing
• tromping
• snowing under
• dispatching
• licking
• capping
• winning (against)
• prevailing (over)
• finishing
• surmounting
• besting
• subduing
• vanquishing
• triumphing (over)
• slaughtering
• upending
• overthrowing
• hurdling
• subjugating
• overpowering
• knocking over
• bettering
• outstripping
• eclipsing
• overmatching
• outdoing
• outdistancing
• outshining
• knocking off
• transcending
• worsting
• edging (out)
• excelling
• overtopping
• overbearing
• sinking
• flourishing
• pipping
• acing (out)
• breaking
• doing in
• outfighting
• nosing out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shellacking

Noun

The Canadian defender — on a late-window transfer to the Rapids from Toronto FC — made a monstrous impact on Saturday night against the Houston Dynamo in a 6-2 shellacking. — Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2026

But those utterly non-competitive back-to-back shellackings at the hands of the Oilers and Ducks this week? — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2026

Verb

Not many losses will be as loud as the 139-96 shellacking the Thunder (61-16) handed the Lakers (50-27) at Paycom Center – the type of loss that takes some of the steam out of the Lakers’ 15-2 March surge. — Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026

Yin was 3-for-3 and had four RBIs in Monta Vista 32-0 shellacking over Jefferson. — Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026