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
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
LaFleur’s team is 1-0 in the division thanks to its season-opening trouncing of the Lions and is sixth in the NFC playoff picture.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 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
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
With his team trouncing the Philadelphia 76ers and Alvarado already on fire from 3-point range, the New York Knicks’ newest guard turned to his greatest hits.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 13 Feb. 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
So what is the path forward if trouncing the supply lines won’t produce results?
—Sterling Elliott, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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
LaFleur’s team is 1-0 in the division thanks to its season-opening trouncing of the Lions and is sixth in the NFC playoff picture.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 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
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
With his team trouncing the Philadelphia 76ers and Alvarado already on fire from 3-point range, the New York Knicks’ newest guard turned to his greatest hits.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 13 Feb. 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
So what is the path forward if trouncing the supply lines won’t produce results?
—Sterling Elliott, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
-
One night after his team squandered three separate leads in an overtime defeat at Utah, McDavid delivered the kind of performance Edmonton needed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Check out the vibes following defeats.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The famously-shy sophomore obliged, several of her teammates whipping out their phones to record the big moment.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The Supergirl trailer shows him hootin' and hollerin' while doing donuts on his cycle and whipping his chain weapon around a horde of assailants.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Chicago police and Cook County Crime Stoppers are searching for the three men and a woman pictured above in connection with the deadly beating of a man in Avondale on March 25.—
Asal Rezaei,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Two other hikers had partly witnessed the assault and corroborated Arielle Konig's account of what happened during the beating.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But at the end of the day, Pasricha said, normalizing people doing human things in our homes without judgment and overcoming this embarrassment are important.—
Kristen Rogers,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
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And, in a perfectly fitting twist, UConn can cement that status by overcoming a Michigan powerhouse that is racking up historically impressive numbers, hoping to go down as one of the sport's greatest teams itself.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Schlapp said there's an easy explanation for Orbán's loss.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The loss against Nashville dropped Charlotte to fifth in the Eastern Conference, a goal behind NYC FC for fourth place with a chance to leapfrog them on Saturday.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Wild video captured the moment a young fisherman plunged into pounding Southern California surf to wrestle a thrashing shark and free it from his fishing line.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But shortly after the line was removed, the shark regained movement and started thrashing about in an attempt to get into deeper water.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
These are Chinese, of course, and are made by coating duck eggs in a paste of salt, wood ash, lime, and black tea and burying them among rice husks in huge ceramic jars for 100 days.—
Jeffrey Steingarten,
Vogue,
5 Apr. 2026
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For the tribe, its main objective is to repatriate the remains of their ancestors — a process that often involves gathering the remains and artifacts and burying them together in a spot on the site that cannot be disturbed.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The next day, the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, launching the country into war.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Human Rights Watch has said bombing them would constitute a war crime.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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