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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of trouncing
Sean Gregory,
Time,
24 June 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
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
16 June 2026
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
Noun
Kylian Mbappé has four for France; Cristiano Ronaldo got into the act on Tuesday, scoring his first two goals of the tournament in Portugal’s 5-1 trouncing of Uzbekistan.
—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
24 June 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
But in general the US military proved incapable of quickly trouncing a much weaker adversary, and left the citizens and residents of Gulf allies under fire in the meantime.
—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
16 June 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
-
A little more than an hour before his post-match press conference in the bowels of SoFi Stadium, Pochettino watched his USA team give up a last-second goal to Turkey that ensured a 3-2 defeat in this final match of the group stage.
-
News of Custer's defeat stunned Americans, who were celebrating their country's centennial.
Verb
-
Ospreay struck Strickland, who responded by whipping a chain at him.
-
Vargas is accused of repeatedly whipping the cab’s hood with a belt, denting it, cops said.
Noun
-
But if the stock market rally that powers the divide fizzles out, the economy could take a significant beating.
-
Prosecutors allege that six of Arnold’s associates actually carried out the crimes, holding, beating and pistol-whipping the victims, and that Arnold wasn’t there at the time.
Verb
-
Forward-looking firms are overcoming this by deploying advanced technical strategies.
-
Normal matter can’t be stuffed into a space tiny and dense enough without overcoming a huge outward pressure.
Noun
-
Cruz, who also gave up an RBI single to Anthony Seigler and a game-tying sac fly to Tsung-Che Cheng, made sure to take responsibility for his part in the loss.
-
But shareholders have pushed back against hefty pay packages, which come during a period of upheaval in Hollywood that has been buffeted by job losses from media consolidation and outsourcing.
Verb
-
Perhaps the sanest character is Trent, who shows off his musical chops in a bar scene, thrashing some vocals with a metal band.
-
The United States got off to a flying start at the 2026 World Cup, thrashing Paraguay 4-1 on Friday in Los Angeles — the first time the men’s team has scored four goals in a World Cup finals match.
Verb
-
The structure suddenly collapsed, burying the people within.
-
Since then, the city has touted its success in burying most of its wires while keeping rates competitive with other utilities.
Verb
-
French officials condemned the damage to the ancient monastery, comparing it to bombing Notre-Dame, while Ukrainian religious leaders called it a crime against humanity.
-
Another bad fix bombing out the moment it was most needed.
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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