as in smacked
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
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Recent Examples of swatted
Michigan State’s Carson Cooper appeared to have an easy breakaway layup, but Jamerson swatted him from behind, and Cooper went down.
—
Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 18 Feb. 2026
Germany swatted aside France 5-1 and Switzerland defeated host nation, Italy, 3-0 with both nations advancing to the quarterfinals in men's hockey.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 17 Feb. 2026
The Blue Jays had hoped Santander, who swatted 105 homers in his final three seasons as an Oriole, could replace some of the offensive production lost following Bo Bichette’s departure for the Mets.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
Arkansas swatted 10 shots as a team.
—Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 11 Feb. 2026
Slotkin said her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother was assigned a police detail due to threats and her parents were swatted in the middle of the night.
—CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Slotkin said her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother was assigned a police detail because of threats and her parents were swatted in the middle of the night.
—Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Soon after the change was made, a polar bear walked down both sides of the runway and swatted every red light.
—Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 4 Feb. 2026
Williams sliced through Davis and Simmons before Byrd cleanly swatted his shot in the lane, and replays indicated incidental contact from any of them.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 18 Feb. 2026
Germany swatted aside France 5-1 and Switzerland defeated host nation, Italy, 3-0 with both nations advancing to the quarterfinals in men's hockey.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 17 Feb. 2026
The Blue Jays had hoped Santander, who swatted 105 homers in his final three seasons as an Oriole, could replace some of the offensive production lost following Bo Bichette’s departure for the Mets.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
Arkansas swatted 10 shots as a team.
—Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 11 Feb. 2026
Slotkin said her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother was assigned a police detail due to threats and her parents were swatted in the middle of the night.
—CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Slotkin said her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother was assigned a police detail because of threats and her parents were swatted in the middle of the night.
—Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Soon after the change was made, a polar bear walked down both sides of the runway and swatted every red light.
—Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 4 Feb. 2026
Williams sliced through Davis and Simmons before Byrd cleanly swatted his shot in the lane, and replays indicated incidental contact from any of them.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swatted
Verb
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There was that type of moment Tuesday, when Joe Mack – considered one of the top catching prospects in baseball - smacked a fifth-inning grand slam off Phillies’ minor league pitcher Andrew Walling in a 6-1 Marlins win.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of last year’s World Series, Ernie Clement smacked a fly ball off Yoshinobu Yamamoto into the left-center-field gap with the bases loaded and the score tied.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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From there Moss scrapped to two outs, but the Bruins worked the bases loaded before Martin slapped a single up the middle to drive in two runs.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Feb. 2026
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Kyiv's allies have slapped heavy sanctions on Moscow, forcing it to redirect its key oil exports toward new markets, particularly in Asia.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The woman, who was on her cellphone, recalled being knocked to the ground and forced into the van.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Reese knocked the ball loose from Sonia Citron in the closing seconds, a defensive play that would have sealed the comeback narrative.—
D’Joumbarey Moreau,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the bottom of the inning, Temo Becerra, a senior, hit just his fourth collegiate homer with a shot into the Crawford Boxes in left field.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The heated rivalry between the Pentagon and Anthropic just hit a new horizon Friday.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Belt-Stubblefield ignored orders to stop and raised his hands, and Neely punched him in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, according to Chamberlain’s account in the days after the shooting.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
24 Feb. 2026
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Charges stemmed from claims that Beverley grabbed his teenage sister by the neck and punched her in the eye during a family altercation.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Panthers forward, 28, dedicated his gold medal to Gaudreau, a Columbus Blue Jackets and fellow national team player, who died cycling in August 2024 when a drunk driver allegedly swerved and slammed into his bicycle.—
Chris Kudialis,
Miami Herald,
23 Feb. 2026
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Many city Democrats quickly took the position that this showed bad management by Stewart, while Stewart’s defenders slammed the action as a political smear.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sadberry limped off the floor in the third quarter with a cramp after someone banged into her knee.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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While trying to duck under the very first beam in the very first challenge at the marooning, Bruce banged and bloodied his head, suffering a concussion.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Other people clapped and cheered when supporters of the resolution spoke during the public comments section of the meeting, which was held after the resolution was tabled.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
23 Feb. 2026
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The crowd — representing a wide range of backgrounds and languages — clapped along and filmed on their phones, clearly enjoying it.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swatted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swatted. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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