Synonyms of tanning

tanning

verb

present participle of tan

1

as in hiding

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

• hiding
• whipping
• slashing
• switching
• flicking
• cutting
• leathering
• lashing
• spanking
• flogging
• hitting
• scourging
• flagellating
• slapping
• whaling
• flailing
• licking
• thrashing
• knocking
• punching
• strapping
• banging
• batting
• smacking
• cowhiding
• clipping
• birching
• rawhiding
• horsewhipping
• pounding
• mauling
• whacking
• swiping
• boxing
• caning
• clubbing
• beating
• clapping
• swatting
• thumping
• cracking
• paddling
• lathering
• knouting
• cudgeling
• quirting
• pelting
• bashing
• battering
• socking
• smiting
• touching up
• basting
• roughing
• pasting
• blackjacking
• slating
• hammering
• slugging
• thwacking
• bopping
• pummeling
• cuffing
• mangling
• fibbing
• belting
• clouting
• busting
• pistol-whipping
• lacing
• clobbering
• working over
• bludgeoning
• threshing
• fustigating
• buffeting
• lamming
• drubbing
• slogging
• whopping
• walloping
• pommeling
• lambasting
• bunging
• belaboring
• tromping
• whupping

2

as in licking

to strike repeatedly

a time when children were routinely tanned for misbehavior

Synonyms & Similar Words

• licking
• hiding
• pounding
• lashing
• whipping
• doing
• battering
• beating
• hitting
• spanking
• pelting
• slapping
• attacking
• knocking
• punching
• clubbing
• batting
• thumping
• paddling
• smashing
• lathering
• currying
• slamming
• chopping
• mauling
• assaulting
• raiding
• bashing
• boxing
• flogging
• basting
• slating
• switching
• pummeling
• whaling
• hammering
• fibbing
• thrashing
• smacking
• belting
• lacing
• punching out
• working over
• bludgeoning
• threshing
• buffeting
• drubbing
• whacking
• slogging
• storming
• whopping
• swiping
• pommeling
• birching
• lambasting
• cracking
• walloping
• roughing (up)
• belaboring
• wounding
• messing (up)
• tromping
• whupping
• strapping
• swatting
• bunging up
• rushing
• beating up on
• pasting
• caning
• leathering
• socking
• descending (on or upon)
• thwacking
• scourging
• cudgeling
• flagellating
• cuffing
• jumping (on)
• clobbering
• assailing
• busting
• besetting
• pouncing (on or upon)
• laying on
• lamming
• whamming
• mutilating
• clouting
• lacerating
• blackjacking
• cowhiding
• pistol-whipping
• maiming
• goring
• rawhiding
• horsewhipping
• whomping
• mangling
• fustigating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tanning

In the smoking room, the Gamonéus were lined up neatly on shelves, gently tanning in the smoke from a fire smoldering in the corner. — Simon Willis, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026

Experts are concerned about a resurgence in the popularity of tanning among young adults as social media has helped tanning in general make a comeback. — Jaimie Ding, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026

But will the new ingredient win the trust of Make America Healthy Again skeptics and Gen Zers intentionally tanning? — Michael Scaturro, Miami Herald, 15 June 2026

Tanning beds are not a safer option than tanning outside. — Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 12 June 2026

Alternatively, Evans suggests using a moisturizer on those areas before tanning to create a barrier so less self-tanner can penetrate. — Deanna Pai, Glamour, 6 June 2026

Other myths, such as how tanning your perineum can boost energy and balance hormones, or how eliminating seed oils from your diet will protect you from the sun, have also fed into Gen Z tanning culture. — The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 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