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
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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
Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Oct. 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
With the Chiefs appearing more vulnerable in a season coming off a Super Bowl trouncing, Buffalo—which opens its 2025 campaign Sunday night at home against another formidable foe, the Baltimore Ravens—is poised for a breakthrough.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Alan McPherson, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2025
With the Dragons trouncing Byron Nelson and Trinity, the gap between them and the rest of the competition is incredibly wide.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2025
Though Roan is a total force on stage, polished and magnetic while trouncing around a set made to look like an illustrated fairytale castle, the show is not without her signature frankness.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 21 Sep. 2025
After an uninspiring 10-9 win over Kennesaw State, Wake Forest bounced back in a big way, trouncing Western Carolina 42-10.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took a victory lap Wednesday after trouncing Josh Kraft by a 48-point margin in the preliminary election, saying that her sweep of every ward was indicative of voters feeling the city is moving in the right direction.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
Game 1 of the World Series, a stunning 11-4 trouncing of the Dodgers, had echoes of the Skubal game.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Oct. 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
With the Chiefs appearing more vulnerable in a season coming off a Super Bowl trouncing, Buffalo—which opens its 2025 campaign Sunday night at home against another formidable foe, the Baltimore Ravens—is poised for a breakthrough.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
The doctrine died a surer death with the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove its rogue leader, Manuel Noriega, convicted of drug-running and guilty of trouncing his country’s democracy.
—Alan McPherson, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2025
With the Dragons trouncing Byron Nelson and Trinity, the gap between them and the rest of the competition is incredibly wide.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2025
Though Roan is a total force on stage, polished and magnetic while trouncing around a set made to look like an illustrated fairytale castle, the show is not without her signature frankness.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 21 Sep. 2025
After an uninspiring 10-9 win over Kennesaw State, Wake Forest bounced back in a big way, trouncing Western Carolina 42-10.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took a victory lap Wednesday after trouncing Josh Kraft by a 48-point margin in the preliminary election, saying that her sweep of every ward was indicative of voters feeling the city is moving in the right direction.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
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Auburn fell to 4-5 on the year after the Week 10 defeat to the Wildcats.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Although Ukraine for now is still maintaining a defense, the fall of Pokrovsk would be one of the most serious defeats Ukraine has suffered since March, when its troops were forced to retreat from Russia's Kursk region.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The windproof and thermal wool blend fabric is the perfect shell to protect you on the many fall days in Paris, as the whipping wind adds an unexpected cool factor while strolling around town.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Nov. 2025
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Strong, whipping winds are expected to continue across Jamaica throughout the night.—
Matt Nighswander,
NBC news,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But experiences similar to what Khaled shared—including extended kneeling, beatings, attacks by military dogs, and a lack of medical care—have been reported by human-rights groups, the United Nations, and news organizations.—
Mosab Abu Toha,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
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They’re designed to stabilize and regulate the heart’s beating, not to inform others of the heart’s catastrophic arrest.—
Joy Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Key challenges to commercialization include creating a material that is both safe and highly conductive and overcoming the high costs of mass production.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
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Castellani and Muritiba spoke about how the United States can learn from Brazil and their country’s history of overcoming fascism.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Maduro has ruled Venezuela with an iron fist since 2013 and has clung to power despite an apparently decisive loss in the 2024 presidential election.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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The former Indianapolis Colts owner didn’t want anyone to miss his message following the Colts’ catastrophic end-of-season collapse that was punctuated by a 26-11 loss to the 3-14 Jaguars.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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However, if the prey was stuck in the web and struggling (thrashing about), the stabilimenta successfully transmitted the alarm to a wider area of the web.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
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Look for signs like the cat stopping purring, stiffening, thrashing their tail, or hissing.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Enclose your hostas with a 1-foot-high circle of mesh, also burying it 6 inches below ground.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
31 Oct. 2025
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His lover died in shock and horror that Regis was capable of such violence, and a vampire hunter did the rest of the work by staking, decapitating, and burying him next to Bethané’s corpse.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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An art conservator who'd prefer to be immersed in detail work, Sarah is bombing as the host of a dinner party where her entrepreneur husband (Tom Riley) hopes to impress an obnoxious prospective investor (Tom Goodman-Hill) when a literal explosive goes off in her neighborhood.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
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Trump has often expressed verbal frustration with Putin, accusing him of making positive diplomatic noises before bombing Ukrainian civilians again, but until now had avoided taking direct action.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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