Thesaurus results for TAN

tan

verb

ˈtan

as in to lash

to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible Grandpa told us that when he was a kid, if he misbehaved at all, his father would tan his backside with a belt

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as in to lick

to strike repeatedly a time when children were routinely tanned for misbehavior

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tan Blond, blue-eyed and perpetually tanned, Harmon served as Groucho Marx’s assistant on the 1961 CBS game show Tell It to Groucho, then starred as a girl in Hawaii who gets mixed up in a robbery in the beach party movie One Way Wahine (1965). —

Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026 The waste from a single large agave piña can produce enough biopolymers to co-formulate the retannage — an additional treatment after tanning where leather is exposed to chemicals or natural agents to fine-tune its feel — of roughly 80 hides. —

Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 2 Apr. 2026 His skin is tanned, similar to a Lunarian king. —

Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026 Tessum, 36, tall, lean, and tanned, already has two world records for trips to the North Pole. —

Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tan

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tan

Verb

When the war began, a cornered Iran lashed out by attacking its neighbors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a 45-year-old coalition of energy-rich Arab monarchies including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 19 May 2026
Harris also shows us the burn scars that ripple up Racine’s arm and across Anaia’s face, textured skin that makes strangers blanch, to which Racine lashes out defensively.

— Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 15 May 2026