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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In this world, items are paid for by receiving slaps to the face.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026 -
Europe has long underspent on defense, and where American cajoling for decades had not worked, a few face slaps succeeded.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Squad' rep's felon husband smacks phone from reporter 3.—
,
FOXNews.com,
7 Jan. 2026
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Just as this monster is about to take out the entire team on the Abyss, a giant boulder flies through the air and smacks him in the face.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
1 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The blows exchanged were so numerous that The Athletic had to assign Jack Lang to patiently trawl through footage of them all.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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The MacBook Neo dealt a series of mighty blows to its budget PC competition, but that Lenovo machine’s Arm processor presented some challenges for the Apple laptop’s iPhone chip.—
Joe Osborne,
PC Magazine,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Aledo thumps Colleyville Heritage, Joshua next Tiara Butler dropped in 13 points to lead Aledo to a 48-21 win over Colleyville Heritage in a Class 5A Division I bi-district playoff on Monday.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Feb. 2026
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Pam thumps down to earth, all four chair legs on the floor.—
Allegra Goodman,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The star then grabbed a bat and took several whacks at a colorful piñata shaped like a cascaron.—
René Guzman,
San Antonio Express-News,
4 Feb. 2026
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Deeper down the road the slap of the drooping tropical tree branches against the windshield are like punishing whacks to the face for trying to force a metaphor.—
Matt Negrin,
Rolling Stone,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Dean Puckett, United Kingdom, 2025 A single mother and her child are put through a nightmarish ordeal when a politician knocks on their door.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 Mar. 2026
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Opportunity knocks, though, as Virginia Tech hits the road going for a sweep of archrival Virginia on Saturday.—
Jim Root,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Brown responds by shoving the officer's hand down, and after the second shove, the officer throws two punches.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
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But amid the coronation for their crosstown rival, Gottlieb was looking for anything that told her this Trojans team could take some punches and also give some back in March.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
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Benbrook whips Diamond Hill-Jarvis Benbrook stayed on pace for a playoff berth in District 8-4A as the Lady Bobcats thumped Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis 55-7.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Spanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spanks. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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