as in slap
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
delivered a quick spank to the child's bottom for disobedience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spank
Noun
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The two slowly approached each other and Diabate put his head down to butt up against Duren’s forehead, leading to Duren taking a slap and swipe at Diabate.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Feb. 2026 -
In this world, items are paid for by receiving slaps to the face.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Within seconds, Perez smacked a cellphone out of the man's hand, swung at his head and tackled him to the ground.—
Sheridan Hendrix,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
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But tens of thousands of films are made each year, and quite a few of them break the rules, defy conventional narrative expectations and smack us deep in our souls.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Pitchers and catchers report This week, Albernaz gets a glimpse of his pitching staff and catchers, before the thump of an offensive lineup joins the workouts.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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For what felt like an eternity — but was really 20 minutes — the whole place was enveloped in an eerie silence, the only sound being the steady thump of techno-pop playing through the loudspeakers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Even 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
17 Feb. 2026
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Even just 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.—
Mobile Web,
Mercury News,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Now there’s clear animosity between the teams, which is intriguing for the casual viewer but a blow to the curling community.—
Julia Frankel,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
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In an attempt to cushion this blow, Congress created a $50-billion Rural Health Transformation Project.—
Ana B. Ibarra,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And Peters has been banging his head on his desk trying to get Congress to use it.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
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Anthropic’s lunchroom, downstairs, was where Claude banged its head against walls in real life.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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A week after reviving her Prince routine to honor fans during a meet at Minnesota, Chiles seamlessly transitioned back at Pauley Pavilion to her energetic routine set to a medley of hits by icons Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner.—
Los Angeles Times Staff,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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There were some hits and there were some misses for sure.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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They were instead captured and publicly whipped.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
19 Feb. 2026
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Those who observe Lent will spend the next several Fridays whipping out fish recipes or attending a fish fry and abstaining from eating meat.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
18 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Spank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spank. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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