1
as in thuds
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
he gave the ball a hard thwack with the bat and sent it deep into the outfield
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in claps
a loud explosive sound
even from the top of the bleachers we could hear the loud thwack of the ball being hit
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in slaps
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
thwacked the growling dog on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thwacks
Noun
-
Another day, as Mom loads the children into the car, Jeremy tosses a basketball against the house, again and again, his passive aggression registering through the ball’s unyielding thuds and his own frozen gaze.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026 -
The call, which the filing says was made within two minutes of the thuds, was to an employee of the company that owned the development where Okland was hosting the open house.—
Karen Cortes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That’ll be the stormiest period of the weekend, with gusts up to 40 mph and potentially more claps of thunder.—
Anthony Edwards,
San Francisco Chronicle,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Tears flowed, and the audience held space for grief, offering supportive claps and chants.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
At the end of the night, during the bows, Butler slaps the guys playing her two antagonists gently on their butts, a gesture that would have jarred in most stagings but fully in keeping with the inclusive, humanistic vibe of this production.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The music also slaps, synthesizing industrial, electro-pop and iPod party music into a work that feels honest and the right kind of raunchy.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, neighbors can still hear the thumps.—
Tyler Jett,
Des Moines Register,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In the first slide, the movie star sat in a chair as Pita puts the finishing touches on her bangs with longer pieces on the sides.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Other times, they were woken by loud bangs.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Victor Caratini, whose two-run single in the first inning gave the Twins some breathing room, hit a sacrifice fly earlier in the game and both Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis had RBI knocks for the Twins in the win.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
7 Apr. 2026
-
A lot of the low end on the production really knocks, too.—
Olivier Lafontant,
Pitchfork,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The event felt like a throwback to the glitzy, lavish Hollywood premieres that used to take over the town every weekend, but have become scarce since the film business suffered a series of blows that have led to lots of belt-tightening.—
Rebecca Ford,
Vanity Fair,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The Senate’s quick passage of the 10-day patch was starkly different than the House’s rare overnight session, during which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was dealt two consecutive blows.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The biopharmaceutical company's efforts come as demand for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis treatments booms.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Multicoin, especially, has been at the whims of crypto’s booms and busts.—
Ben Weiss,
Fortune,
16 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Thwacks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thwacks. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
