as in slaps
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 spanks
Noun
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Touted as the second-highest fine ever levied by the board, many observers struggled to view it as anything but the gentlest of wrist slaps.—
DAVID AMSDEN,
Rolling Stone,
29 Aug. 2025 -
They were then categorized by behavior, including jumps, belly rolls, tail slaps, bow riding and even petting.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Andor hates him on sight, which only intensifies when Berend smacks around his mother and tears up the apartment looking for proof that Klára has deceived the boy with idealized fictions about his origins.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
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Vocals are sped up into squiggles, instruments are reversed and gated, percussion smacks you in the face and then suddenly vanishes.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Rodgers took four sacks and three other hits, including multiple heavy blows.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Last March, Mariah The Scientist allegedly came to blows with Young Thug’s former lover, Cleopatra Dues, at an Atlanta lounge.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Harrison stabs Prater with the needle and knocks the billionaire out.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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When cosmic rays — including, in part, plain old protons from the Sun’s solar wind — strike the Moon, the recoil from those heavy elements knocks them into an excited state.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To accomplish this, Barton turned to the fundamental dance technique of spotting, where the dancer finds a focal point in front of them and whips their head around to hold that focus spot and keep themself centered.—
Oliver Sava,
Vulture,
28 Aug. 2025
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Wind whips both the sound waves and temperatures around, so bring a blanket even if it’s not forecast to rain or hail.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Pop princess Kylie Minogue landed some punches as Cammy White in the 1994 Street Fighter film.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
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The one-two-three judicial punches could risk the president's plans to deport as many as 1 million people per year.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Millennials are currently ruling the tech industry and clinging to their roles as the economy is rocked by uncertainty due to tariffs, inflation increases living expenses, and AI swipes jobs.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
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Deen also takes several swipes at her former detractors in the project, including fellow foodie and CNN travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain, who died by suicide in 2018.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Spanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spanks. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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