as in defeat
failure to win a contest
took a serious trouncing during the first game but came back to win the next two
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Example Sentences
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 trouncing
Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 May 2026
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
Andrew McNicol, CNN Money, 7 June 2026
Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise surged 26% after the technology company issued a rosy outlook for the current quarter and raised its guidance for the full year, trouncing the Street's estimates.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 1 June 2026
From there, top seed Hien Truong took over, trouncing Nguyen in the semis and Hatakeyama in the finals to claim his 5th medal and 2nd PPA international gold since September.
—Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
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
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
Valencia got 55% of votes in the contest held by conservative candidates, with nearly all the ballots tallied, trouncing eight other presidential hopefuls.
—Oscar Medina, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026
Noun
Spurrier, who predominantly sold French vintages, wasn’t expecting anything other than a trouncing for the parvenu.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 May 2026
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
Verb
At a celebratory exhibition match last week in the capital, under the watchful eye of the supreme leader, Naegohyang faced off against the under-17s team, who just added an Asian Cup to their impressive array of silverware, trouncing Japan 5-1 in the final.
—Andrew McNicol, CNN Money, 7 June 2026
Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise surged 26% after the technology company issued a rosy outlook for the current quarter and raised its guidance for the full year, trouncing the Street's estimates.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 1 June 2026
From there, top seed Hien Truong took over, trouncing Nguyen in the semis and Hatakeyama in the finals to claim his 5th medal and 2nd PPA international gold since September.
—Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
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
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
Valencia got 55% of votes in the contest held by conservative candidates, with nearly all the ballots tallied, trouncing eight other presidential hopefuls.
—Oscar Medina, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
-
After Mexico suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to Sweden, their hopes of advancing hinged on South Korea’s team pulling off an unlikely victory over Germany.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
-
The celebratory parade comes on the heels of the Knicks defeat of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals 4-1 over the weekend, securing the team's first NBA Championship title since 1973 and ending a 53-year drought.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
Vargas is accused of repeatedly whipping the cab’s hood with a belt, denting it, cops said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
-
But listening to Magazine—their new 10-track, 11-minute album—that artful density becomes singular, swaying as much as whipping between its frantic ideas.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The beating damaged more than 73,000 homes in North Carolina, including 8,800 confirmed to be either badly harmed or destroyed, according to the Observer’s previous reporting.—
Maveah Griffith,
Charlotte Observer,
10 June 2026
-
Air conditioners run for months on end, hard water wears down plumbing and pool equipment takes a beating.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
The barriers our students face have changed over the years, but our commitment to overcoming them remains the same as always.—
Albert D. Mosley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 June 2026
-
Rather than scaling software, their approach focuses on overcoming physical bottlenecks—verified by the laws of physics—to build the foundational architecture for the broader space economy.—
Alexandra Vidyuk,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The Spurs accrued a 10-point lead at that point, blitzing the Knicks with the type of pressure expected from a team that was a loss away from an offseason filled with sadness.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
-
The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
Witnesses who observed those executions later shared unnerving, and, at times, horrific, accounts of inmates thrashing, moaning, or otherwise appearing to show signs of suffering after the nitrogen gas began to flow.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
-
Pineda’s arrest also caused recurring nightmares that leave him shouting and thrashing around in bed.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Yet following closely behind is Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), Wardex’s nervy CEO, who’s intent on burying the facts out of fear that humanity can’t handle this mind-expanding knowledge.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2026
-
Keep the language concrete and avoid burying the point under explanation.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
It was used in bombing missions during the current conflict between the US and Iran.—
Lauren Mascarenhas,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
-
Cook, who is now retired and works in the private sector, became particularly incensed when the military began bombing boats in the Caribbean in September.—
Clint Smith,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
