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

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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

Of course, Preece’s move into the field meant bumping out another driver.

— Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Bonhams is bumping its buyer’s premium up to 30 percent from 28 percent for bids of £25,000 ($33,700) or less.

— Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of bumping

Verb

In 2015, Ben Hiscox died after falling backwards and banging his head on the clubhouse wall during an amateur game at Stoke Gifford, near Bristol.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
As the spot ends, the robot is left banging its head against a wall.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of banging

Verb

Still, diesel's record-setting rise colliding with the fall harvest season means that costs will balloon for producers of crops like corn and wheat, according to Jacob Aiken-Phillips, head of consumer and retail research at Melius Research.

— Alex Harring, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
And just a few hours before F1’s first practice session of the weekend on Friday afternoon, a Formula 2 car went up in flames after colliding with the barriers.

— Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026

Definition of colliding

Verb

This would prevent cyclists from smashing into car doors opened into bike lanes, McDermott said.

— Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Boteli sealed his hat-trick at the Johan Cruyff Arena after charging down the right flank, chopping inside and smashing into the far corner on his left foot.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

Next, the door becomes his battering ram, knocking three enemies down to the landing below him.

— Chris Klimek, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026
Some of the entries this year have been knocking on the Hall door for years, including Tickle Me Elmo, the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Mahjong.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of knocking

Verb

After a month of ramming his 6-foot-7, 325-pound frame into his Kansas football teammates during practices at preseason camp, Kansas redshirt junior offensive tackle Calvin Clements is ready to hit somebody, anybody, wearing an opponent’s jersey.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026
In March, a man attacked Temple Israel synagogue in a Detroit suburb, ramming his car into the building and opening fire on a security guard before dying by suicide.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of ramming

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thudded

thudding

thuds

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“Thudding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thudding. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of thudding

verb

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