1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
a time when children were routinely tanned for misbehavior
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tan
Arsenic also negated the need to tan skins of mammals and other animals.
—
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 18 May 2026
The rule drew more than 9,000 public comments from both physicians and cancer research organizations supporting its implementation and from tanning bed industry representatives and business owners opposed.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
Peters has also mentioned taking Melanotan II, which facilitates tanning without the use of sunlight.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 29 Apr. 2026
Market projections expect the self-tanning category to reach $315 million by 2030.
—Tori Crowther, Allure, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tan
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 18 May 2026
The rule drew more than 9,000 public comments from both physicians and cancer research organizations supporting its implementation and from tanning bed industry representatives and business owners opposed.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
Peters has also mentioned taking Melanotan II, which facilitates tanning without the use of sunlight.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 29 Apr. 2026
Market projections expect the self-tanning category to reach $315 million by 2030.
—Tori Crowther, Allure, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tan
Verb
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From Ikebana studios in Kyoto to leather workshops in Florence and tartan looms in Stirling, a growing number of trips now build entire itineraries around a single craft.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
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The main space includes a custom kitchen with an induction Verona stove, leathered granite counters and a large copper farmhouse sink.—
Kaitlyn Keegan,
Hartford Courant,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Bring along a friend who wouldn’t be able to indulge in these kinds of finger-licking treats otherwise.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 June 2026
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The image of the students as vivisectors, committed to extracting the hearts and licking the bones of the transgressors in their midst, seems to mirror her own hatred of the university’s tendency toward frenzied analysis.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
17 June 2026
Verb
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But listening to Magazine—their new 10-track, 11-minute album—that artful density becomes singular, swaying as much as whipping between its frantic ideas.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
12 June 2026
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At one point, about a dozen people, most wearing Knicks jerseys, jumped on top of a cab stuck in traffic and stomped on and busted the front windshield, while several revelers took turns using belts to whip the hood of the taxi, according to bystander video.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Verb
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This automatically measures the distance between the edges of the folding panels, uses sensors to detect offsets and recalibrates the brightness of adjacent LEDs to hide the tiny slot.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 June 2026
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Achieving it in reality would be brutally hard because the target moves, hides, jams, uses decoys, and fights back.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
13 June 2026
Verb
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On his left, slashing toward the box, was Messi and Martinez found him beautifully.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
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The moves are part of the effort by the team of new BBC director general Matt Brittin, a former Google top executive, to slash costs across operations and functions.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
Verb
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They might be jolted awake with a pounding heart, multiple times a night, for years.—
Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
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When the worker said yes, there followed a cacophony of voices, radios, and pounding boots as police stormed the property.—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The billionaire venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems cofounder lashed out on X at student protesters who walked out of Stanford’s 135th commencement ceremony while Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was delivering the keynote address.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
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Trump lashed out at Ossoff in his Truth Social post on June 14.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Rain pelted the ballpark during Tuesday’s game as the Giants built a lead on RBIs from Matt Chapman, Bryce Eldridge, and Jung Hoo Lee.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
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Cars looked like they were pelted by multiple golf balls.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tan. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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