as in defeat
failure to win a contest
took a serious trouncing during the first game but came back to win the next two
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in whipping
to defeat by a large margin
our candidate trounced her opponent in the election, winning with 76% of the vote
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of trouncing
Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Moments before the ball was tipped ahead of the Phoenix Suns’ Game 1 trouncing, Dillon Brooks ran his fingers over the grooves of the game ball the way starters tend to.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Last year’s trophy was won by Paris Saint Germain following its 5-0 trouncing of Inter Milan.
—Thomas Smith, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2026
Kings organist Dieter Ruehle was feeling a bit cheeky during Thursday’s 8-1 trouncing by the Edmonton Oilers.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
That blend of players yielded the team’s first playoff victory, a trouncing of the Minnesota Vikings in the wake of a turbulent week of wildfires in Los Angeles.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
Creative tension with old-school Republicans in the first term and then genuine fears about his own reelection following the trouncing the GOP got in 2018 produced a far more popular version of Trumpism than the current undiluted dose.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
Muller’s team has won seven of those encounters, including the 2014 World Cup Final and an 8-2 trouncing of Barcelona that was the club’s worst loss in more than half a century.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 5 Dec. 2025
Isiah Pacheco also put together 57 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs' trouncing of the Raiders.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Fred Katz, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
In that stretch, the stock has climbed about 63%, ahead of the S & P 500's roughly 34% advance and trouncing the health-care sector's almost 8% gain.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2026
Aledo stacks another win Aledo won its 11th consecutive game Friday, trouncing Saginaw 15-0 in shutout fashion.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2026
The endorsements came after first quarter fundraising numbers show Goldman trouncing challenger Brad Lander in cash on hand, raking in more than twice as much money.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Carlsbad continued to play like an Open Division quality team on Wednesday night, trouncing host La Jolla Country Day 16-3 to improve to 6-3 on the young season.
—Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2026
That advice ended up coinciding with a 44% surge in clean energy stocks in 2025, trouncing the 16% gain in the S&P 500 Index.
—Alastair Marsh, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026
Boise went into halftime trouncing the hosts in second-chance points (13-2) and on the boards (21-11).
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2026
The Seahawks were the top seed in the NFC, going 14-3 in the competitive NFC West before trouncing the division rival San Francisco 49ers and edging out the division rival Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.
—Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2026
Noun
Two and a half hours after Palisades’ girls team captured its fourth straight City Section lacrosse championship with a 20-8 trouncing of Birmingham, Palisades boys saw their streak of nine consecutive titles snapped in a 5-4 loss to the same school.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Moments before the ball was tipped ahead of the Phoenix Suns’ Game 1 trouncing, Dillon Brooks ran his fingers over the grooves of the game ball the way starters tend to.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Last year’s trophy was won by Paris Saint Germain following its 5-0 trouncing of Inter Milan.
—Thomas Smith, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2026
Kings organist Dieter Ruehle was feeling a bit cheeky during Thursday’s 8-1 trouncing by the Edmonton Oilers.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
That blend of players yielded the team’s first playoff victory, a trouncing of the Minnesota Vikings in the wake of a turbulent week of wildfires in Los Angeles.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
Creative tension with old-school Republicans in the first term and then genuine fears about his own reelection following the trouncing the GOP got in 2018 produced a far more popular version of Trumpism than the current undiluted dose.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
Muller’s team has won seven of those encounters, including the 2014 World Cup Final and an 8-2 trouncing of Barcelona that was the club’s worst loss in more than half a century.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 5 Dec. 2025
Isiah Pacheco also put together 57 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs' trouncing of the Raiders.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
Now, the Hawks’ trouncing the Knicks in this category may be a tinge inflated, if only because of matchups.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
In that stretch, the stock has climbed about 63%, ahead of the S & P 500's roughly 34% advance and trouncing the health-care sector's almost 8% gain.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2026
Aledo stacks another win Aledo won its 11th consecutive game Friday, trouncing Saginaw 15-0 in shutout fashion.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2026
The endorsements came after first quarter fundraising numbers show Goldman trouncing challenger Brad Lander in cash on hand, raking in more than twice as much money.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Carlsbad continued to play like an Open Division quality team on Wednesday night, trouncing host La Jolla Country Day 16-3 to improve to 6-3 on the young season.
—Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2026
That advice ended up coinciding with a 44% surge in clean energy stocks in 2025, trouncing the 16% gain in the S&P 500 Index.
—Alastair Marsh, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026
Boise went into halftime trouncing the hosts in second-chance points (13-2) and on the boards (21-11).
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2026
The Seahawks were the top seed in the NFC, going 14-3 in the competitive NFC West before trouncing the division rival San Francisco 49ers and edging out the division rival Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.
—Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
-
The margin for error is so little in the South Coast League that a hit here, an error there, can be the difference between victory and defeat.—
Martin Henderson,
Oc Register,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Scratch him behind the ears and say Good boy over and over so the horse might tire of hearing it, but Pal never would, crunching his peppermint in sweet victory—even defeat.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
If the frosting seems soft and dense, give it a chill before whipping again.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Later that evening, three rounds of hail inundated the house, followed by two bouts of whipping winds.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
With the addition of the right proteins at the right time, these stem cells can be prompted to grow in labs into beating, three-dimensional heart organoids in just a couple of weeks.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
3 May 2026
-
Incidents, many caught on video, include shootings, beatings, arson, land destruction, livestock theft and intimidation.—
Molly Hunter,
NBC news,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
More Than One Way to Survive in Business Entrepreneurs have been positioned to accept that overcoming the competition is the only way to succeed in business, but there may be other paths forward.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
-
The Blackbeard project aims to achieve all this while overcoming the obstacles that have hindered previous attempts at hypersonic weaponry.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
All this may explain why the war doesn’t linger in British memory as a painful loss.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Their 7-6 record ended a 22-year run of at least 10 wins in a season, and their six losses before the playoffs marked their most since the 2009 squad went 9-6 before going 1-1 in the tournament.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
After thrashing the doomed Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 on the opening weekend, City were played off the pitch by Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur and then had no answer to Brighton & Hove Albion’s second-half push.—
Sam Lee,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The team’s season began March 28, with the Glory thrashing the Seattle Majestics 41-2 in front of 794 fans at the Pembroke Hill School, breaking a team-attendance record.—
PJ Green
April 16,
Kansas City Star,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Even worse, local governments are starting to follow suit, holding meetings and burying documents in secrecy when the truth is politically inconvenient.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
-
According to officials, a tank containing 50,000 gallons of asphalt failed and spilled, burying the victim under three feet of asphalt.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Now, the president’s not only banning Iran but also bombing it, to the tune of a $25-billion war.—
Lorraine Ali,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli military personnel that the terms of the ceasefire with Lebanon allow Israel to continue bombing throughout the country.—
Mustafa Qadri,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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