THUDDING Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

thudding

verb

present participle of thud

as in bumping

to come into usually forceful contact with something the snowball thudded against the side of my car

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 thudding The players actually are doing a pretty good job of thudding each other without crossing the line. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026 Running backs earn trust not just through their burst past thudding defenders in no-tackle practices, but especially through their pass-protection ability and receiver capabilities. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 24 July 2026 But the data center surge could come to a sudden, thudding halt if those big companies do not soon see a return on their investment. — Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 2 July 2026 This music is often so simplistic—tenth-grade emo-thirst-trap-core with yearning synths, thudding drums, and maybe a lick of guitar—that a machine could do it too. — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 25 June 2026 Some place where the days were days and the nights fell with thudding certainty. — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026 My heart begins thudding in time with her step. — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 9 June 2026 The mantra is set against the kind of thudding club beat that defined the earliest phases of her career. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2026 Each must traverse more than a mile-and-a-half of terrain, through a canyon, into shadows and out, over rolls that hurl the body half a football field through the air before thudding it back down again. — Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thudding

Verb

Against this stripped down but still bumping backdrop, Christmas and Crack’s loose, witty braggadocio shines.

— Brendan Hay, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026
In June, Luna hopped clumsily from one branch to another, bumping Sandy off her perch and sending her to a branch below.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of bumping

Verb

Support for Infantino Eto’o is not the only person banging the drum for Infantino in what’s become an increasingly fractured landscape.

— Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
These were people who would insist that their American passenger ride in the cab of a trade truck rather than stand in the open back with 20 passengers banging into each other and a couple of goats for hours.

— Ethan Gologor, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of banging

Verb

During court on Eyssallenne's preliminary hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors shared jarring dash camera video of the crash, which shows the boy speeding through an intersection before colliding with a car and getting thrown into the air.

— Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026
Livestream footage shows the blue pickup truck surrounded by ICE vehicles after colliding with immigration agents and smashing into a concrete barrier on the side of I-55 next to Exit 290.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of colliding

Verb

Other robots were not so successful, with some tripping, falling and smashing into pieces during competitions or even catching fire.

— CBS News, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026
This summer has seen record-smashing heatwaves across Europe, huge wildfires from Spain and France to Canada, which have released deadly pollutants into the air, and yet more extreme heat from Africa to Asia.

— Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

Experts said it was most likely caused by a partial glacier collapse that sent tons of ice and rock crashing down into the valley below, setting off a powerful landslide.

— Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
But Maddy can’t run away forever, and her past comes crashing into her new Italian life in the most chaotic way imaginable.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of crashing

Verb

And the defense module can neutralize them via electronics-frying HPM emissions, knocking satellites out without creating a cloud of space debris.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 Aug. 2026
For Lynn Parsons, knocking on a stranger’s door once made the difference between getting home and watching her car get towed away.

— Razak Diallo, Baltimore Sun, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of knocking

Browse Nearby Words

thudded

thudding

thuds

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Style

“Thudding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thudding. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of thudding

verb

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