Synonyms of tan

tan

verb

ˈtan 

1

as in to hide

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hide
• leather
• whip
• slash
• cowhide
• lash
• switch
• flick
• birch
• whale
• flagellate
• cut
• scourge
• rawhide
• hit
• lick
• slap
• flog
• spank
• horsewhip
• knock
• punch
• thrash
• strap
• bat
• flail
• bang
• pound
• maul
• cane
• smack
• clip
• swipe
• whack
• quirt
• box
• pelt
• beat
• touch up
• club
• clap
• slate
• thump
• rough
• swat
• knout
• lam
• blackjack
• belt
• sock
• lather
• slug
• crack
• paddle
• paste
• cuff
• bop
• cudgel
• lace
• work over
• clout
• batter
• bust
• buffet
• fustigate
• bash
• smite
• bung
• baste
• hammer
• clobber
• pummel
• pommel
• fib
• thwack
• bludgeon
• mangle
• thresh
• whop
• slog
• drub
• whup
• wallop
• pistol-whip
• belabor
• lambast
• tromp
• lambaste
• whap

2

as in to lick

to strike repeatedly

a time when children were routinely tanned for misbehavior

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lick
• hide
• pound
• lash
• pelt
• whip
• batter
• do
• beat
• hit
• slap
• bat
• slate
• knock
• punch
• attack
• thump
• lather
• belt
• curry
• spank
• assault
• maul
• paddle
• punch out
• smash
• chop
• club
• birch
• lace
• whale
• work over
• slam
• box
• buffet
• bash
• switch
• baste
• pummel
• raid
• hammer
• fib
• pommel
• flog
• smack
• rough (up)
• bung up
• leather
• bludgeon
• thrash
• beat up on
• whop
• thresh
• wound
• slog
• drub
• swipe
• whup
• storm
• whack
• belabor
• wallop
• crack
• strap
• descend (on or upon)
• lambast
• lam
• tromp
• cane
• lambaste
• rush
• whap
• mess (up)
• lay on
• sock
• paste
• cowhide
• jump (on)
• swat
• cuff
• pounce (on or upon)
• clout
• bust
• flagellate
• scourge
• rawhide
• wham
• blackjack
• cudgel
• clobber
• thwack
• beset
• assail
• gore
• horsewhip
• fustigate
• whomp
• lacerate
• maim
• mutilate
• pistol-whip
• mangle

Examples of tan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As a young man in the 1990s, walking to school in New Delhi, Anant Sudarshan would watch the vultures perched along telephone wires, waiting for the discards of nearby leather tanning factories. —Dylan Scott, Vox, 2 Aug. 2024

Melanin supplements, such as tanning shots or tanning accelerators, are not effective or approved and may be dangerous. —Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 1 Aug. 2024

At a table near mine, an older man with an astonishingly unlined and tanned face asked about an A.T.M.—Sal’s is cash only—and Carew waved her hand dismissively and told him to come back and pay tomorrow. —Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024

Avoid any beauty treatments that require you to be exposed to high or concentrated levels of heat, including tanning salons, hot stone treatments, body wraps, and saunas or steam rooms. —Sarah Bradley, Parents, 22 July 2024