as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
all it took was one hard stroke to knock the ball out of the tree
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to caress
to touch or handle in a tender or loving manner
the young mother gently stroked the sleeping child's brow and then leaned over and kissed him
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to massage
to praise too much
a politician with a special gift for stroking fat-cat donors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of stroke
Ediberto Roman, Sun Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
Last year, after her husband had a stroke, Veni, 62, has been working on her 72-year-old husband's two acres of chile fields single-handedly.
—Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026
Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Gateway trailed 36-26 at that point, and a Marino 3-pointer right after the foul seemed to stroke some momentum.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stroke
Noun
No man, no matter his title, can change the Constitution with the stroke of a pen.
—Ediberto Roman, Sun Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
Last year, after her husband had a stroke, Veni, 62, has been working on her 72-year-old husband's two acres of chile fields single-handedly.
—Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026
Verb
At the end of the table, Faris, an Iranian refugee who had ended up on drugs, stroked a glass of tea.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Gateway trailed 36-26 at that point, and a Marino 3-pointer right after the foul seemed to stroke some momentum.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stroke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stroke
Noun
-
Sheehan managed to keep the Rockies from landing the big blow.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The Senate’s quick passage of the 10-day patch was starkly different than the House’s rare overnight session, during which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was dealt two consecutive blows.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Electric Bleu is French food caressed with California seasonality and the occasional pop of Aussie nostalgia.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
-
And through all this, Saariaho’s elaborately beautiful orchestration scintillates, jabs, caresses, and swerves, giving all that vivid misery a sheen of lyric glamour.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Spray pillow spray onto your bed linens before sleep and massage the body cream into skin nightly.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
In another anecdote, Parker spoke about Pearlman offering to massage him in a hotel room.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Denver Post gave Friednash, a corporate Democratic centrist mouthpiece, the opportunity to take swipes at Melat Kiros, who garnered nearly two-thirds of the caucus vote for the 1st Congressional District race.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Xi’s outreach to Cheng came along with overt swipes at Taiwan’s current government under President Lai Ching-te, who is shunned by Beijing as a dangerous ‘separatist’ for rejecting China’s claim that Taiwan is its territory.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Hall of Fame forward and all-time franchise leader in nearly every major statistical category walked into the arena with Timberwolves co-owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez after player introductions, receiving a roar from the crowd and patting his heart with his hand.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Form into a ball, then pat out to approximately 3/4- inch thickness.—
Judy Bart Kancigor,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The square neckline, smocked waist, and puff sleeves create a flattering, easy-to-wear silhouette.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Hilton asked the same cigar-puffing audience Friday moments after Bianco spoke.—
Joe Garofoli,
San Francisco Chronicle,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Yankees need Wells to provide at least some thump in a bottom third of the order that hasn’t been very good.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Borissov conceded defeat and congratulated the election winner.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday congratulated Radev on his election victory.—
Veselin Toshkov,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stroke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stroke. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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