as in extremely
to a great degree
wrote several thumping big books on World War II
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in smacking
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
thumped the desk with his hand as he delivered his speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
playfully knocked his younger brother down and began to thump him with a foam bat
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in pounding
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thumping
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Heran Mamo, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2025
His band delivered distorted guitar, thumping bass and gritty percussion.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 25 Sep. 2025
Then in the offseason, the Lions lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs, leading some to question whether the team’s window was closing — questions that grew louder after a Week 1 thumping to the Green Bay Packers to start the year.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 23 Sep. 2025
The Cardinals had opened the season with a 31-0 loss at Purdue and a 42-3 thumping at Auburn.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Latin trap, which draws both its name and its sound from the thumping-and-ticking hip-hop of the American South, is slower and woozier, and in some ways more flexible.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Moments of romantic play give way to flashes of authoritarian force, broken up by thumping EDM.
—David Hochman, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
After thumping Cherokee Trail 49-8 on Thursday at Halftime Help Stadium, the Golden Eagles are cruising at 4-0 while looking very much like the caliber of last year’s Class 5A quarterfinal team.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
Somewhere off the coast of Nantucket, the bass on the pool deck was thumping.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
Adverb
The irony of Saturday’s thumping is that, arguably, Frankfurt have become the very model of club that Gladbach strive to be and — pointedly — once were.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
The twinkling synth lines and thumping four-on-the-floor pattern create a groove as irresistible as the woman Iwar yearns for.
—Heran Mamo, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2025
His band delivered distorted guitar, thumping bass and gritty percussion.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 25 Sep. 2025
Then in the offseason, the Lions lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs, leading some to question whether the team’s window was closing — questions that grew louder after a Week 1 thumping to the Green Bay Packers to start the year.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 23 Sep. 2025
The Cardinals had opened the season with a 31-0 loss at Purdue and a 42-3 thumping at Auburn.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Latin trap, which draws both its name and its sound from the thumping-and-ticking hip-hop of the American South, is slower and woozier, and in some ways more flexible.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Moments of romantic play give way to flashes of authoritarian force, broken up by thumping EDM.
—David Hochman, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
After thumping Cherokee Trail 49-8 on Thursday at Halftime Help Stadium, the Golden Eagles are cruising at 4-0 while looking very much like the caliber of last year’s Class 5A quarterfinal team.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
Somewhere off the coast of Nantucket, the bass on the pool deck was thumping.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thumping
Adverb
-
Some genres may be extremely violent and gory, so parents may want to consider supervising their children's viewing of films or avoid them altogether.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Grain bins and silos can be extremely deadly if people get trapped inside.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Really, there’s only one character onstage who commands an audience’s attention, and that’s Hines’ gum-smacking sister-in-law, who turns from antagonist to supporter.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Cal Raleigh tied Mickey Mantle for most home runs in one season for a switch hitter after smacking his 54th dinger yesterday.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Layered with live jazz and pounding percussion from experimental duo Robin Schulkowsky and Joey Baron, the result gave Hedda an extra pulse.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
-
My heart was pounding in my chest and in my ears.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The latest thrashing of an opponent came Saturday evening, when the Broncos (3-1) scored a 47-14 victory over App State (2-2).—
Jim Keyser,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Europe romped to a nine-point thrashing.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Monster has debuted into this very fraught political moment where, despite no evidence showing a link between violence and transness, right-wingers have gone to great pains to paint almost every mass shooter who makes front page news as trans in hopes of stripping trans people of their rights.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In early 2024, support for Israel’s war was very high, if lower among Democrats.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
By slapping a $100,000 filing fee on H=1B visas, the White House has declared the days of cheap labor pipelines and visa abuse officially over.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
On the knee-to-knee collision between each team’s superstar, Collier badly rolled her left ankle and was lying on the floor and slapping the court with her hand as Thomas made her drive.—
Mike Cook,
Twin Cities,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In fact, the mischievous pup led his owner directly to the scene of the crime by licking his lips constantly, which seemed awfully curious.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Bear 856 is also a large, male brown bear, who is easily identifiable to park rangers due to the animal's unusual habit of licking his lips — a behavior not typically observed in brown bears.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The 4-0 hammering in France has seen Ajax’s chance of elimination before the knockout stage rise to 85 per cent.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
There and at Jebel Misma, the team found stone-hammering tools left behind by the artists in layers of sediment dating back 12,000 years.—
Martin J. Kernan,
Scientific American,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thumping. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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