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
as in to delete
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it
if you make a mistake on the form, just stroke it out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stroke
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
Reverse the same stroke, pulling the knife back towards you while maintaining the same angle.
—Jesse Raub, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Mar. 2026
Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
Bowen nipped in ahead of Calvin Bassey and passed to Summerville, who advanced to stroke his fifth league goal of the season, and seventh in 10 appearances across all competitions, into the unguarded net.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stroke
Noun
Then use your squeegee in straight, overlapping strokes to remove the solution.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
Reverse the same stroke, pulling the knife back towards you while maintaining the same angle.
—Jesse Raub, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
Bowen nipped in ahead of Calvin Bassey and passed to Summerville, who advanced to stroke his fifth league goal of the season, and seventh in 10 appearances across all competitions, into the unguarded net.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stroke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stroke
Noun
-
Virginia made one last push, cutting TCU’s lead to 65-55, but the Horned Frogs quickly delivered the knockout blow as Miles knocked down a 3 and Suarez hit sophomore center Clara Silva for a layup to end Virginia’s hopes of another upset.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
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The Israeli military later said raw materials are processed for enrichment at the Yazd plant and the strike was a major blow to Iran’s nuclear program.—
Farnoush Amiri,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Lancôme’s Lash Idôle Curl Goddess Mascara gives you longer, more curled lashes in just a few swipes.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
28 Mar. 2026
-
When Doncic reached out to push Williams’ arm, Williams responded with a backhand swipe across Doncic’s face.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
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The experimental jet, part of NASA’s Quesst mission, is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound while producing only a soft sonic thump instead of a disruptive boom.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But that was one of just five hits in the game for Kansas City.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Javier Sanoja had three hits, Sandy Alcantara allowed one run over seven innings and the Miami Marlins opened the season with a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Here’s where the viral clip gets its real punch.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Our expert take The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Leonard extended his 20-point streak to 49 straight games with 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting, welcoming hand slaps from teammates after hitting his second 3-pointer late in the game.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2026
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Emma Peschel beat the first-period buzzer with a slap shot to make it 4-0 and Sara Swiderski sent a shot from the blue line that deflected into the goal in the third.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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With massive, deep-V hulls and ballast systems that add thousands of pounds, these boats are designed to displace large amounts of water and generate huge waves for wakeboarders and wakesurfers.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
2 Apr. 2026
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The pair spent just over three days on the lunar surface, collecting some 250 pounds of moon rock and soil samples.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
One scenario nobody anticipates is a knock on the door from a Florida Department of Children and Families adult protection investigator.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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Rizvi was the aggressor of the two, hitting four sixes and five boundaries while Stubbs’ 32-ball knock featured three fours and a six.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stroke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stroke. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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