as in slaps
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the impatient toddler got a swat on his wrist for stepping into the street by himself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in smacks
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
didn't sleep a wink all night because she was too busy swatting mosquitoes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swats
Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swats
Verb
And when Melbourne still attempts to challenge the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Wilson swats it away with ease.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swats
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swats
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
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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
-
Beyond clicks and swipes, leaders should anticipate a future of inner speech, intention markers, and neuro-physiological feedback.—
Jason Snyder,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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That set them up for a quick dispatch via a series of sword swipes.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
20 Aug. 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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Lightning hits the United States approximately 25 million times annually.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Sep. 2025
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Lightning hits the United States approximately 25 million times annually.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
5 Sep. 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
Verb
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The steep new parking surcharge slams the brakes on that, hitting both visitors and the workers who would have served them.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Except Steven gets in a car wreck in episode two of season three, and trauma slams Belly and Jeremiah back together.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Legacy is made from the small, repeatable disciplines no one claps for, but everyone benefits from.—
Cody Bjugan,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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And a couple claps their way through Swift's discography.—
Bryan West,
The Tennessean,
8 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swats. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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