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
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Recent Examples of trouncing
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
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
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
The stock, which has jumped 16% year to date, is our third-best performer in these early days of 2026, trouncing the S & P 500′s gain of just 1% this year.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 25 Jan. 2026
In the last year, Walmart shares have risen 27%, double the S&P 500’s growth and trouncing Amazon’s 1% increase.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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
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
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
The stock, which has jumped 16% year to date, is our third-best performer in these early days of 2026, trouncing the S & P 500′s gain of just 1% this year.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 25 Jan. 2026
In the last year, Walmart shares have risen 27%, double the S&P 500’s growth and trouncing Amazon’s 1% increase.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
-
Less than a month ago, the Lakers squandered double-digit leads against the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic in down-to-the-wire defeats.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Ghalibaf accused Israel of attacking infrastructure to conceal battlefield defeats in an X post.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
Arkansas Online,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The high waist bunched a little when seated, but it was hardly cause for breaking focus when attempting an inversion (the whipping wind, however, was another story).—
Talia Abbas,
Vogue,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Taylor also weighed in on keeping her cool on stage when things go wrong, such as embracing her wig flying off and whipping it around her head, the proper form for double-dutching and having patience in Hollywood.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Mia Moore’s running 3-pointer seemingly went through in time to lift the Tigers to a buzzer-beating win over USC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.—
Pete Iacobelli,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
-
That began just before the break, and Heise's buzzer-beating 3 gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This prototype may offer a sustainable solution for long-term exploration on Earth and other planets by overcoming the need for batteries.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Founded by a young mother overcoming thyroid cancer, the brand was created to inspire hope, strength and faith during life’s hardest seasons.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Wizards played without forward Justin Champagnie, who was suspended one game by the NBA for fighting and escalating an on-court altercation that spilled into the seating area during a loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Donovan learned from his father that consistency was a greater measure of character than any win or loss.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
With slow songs from the heart and thrashing experiments that deconstruct and glitch flamenco, reggaeton, rap, and breakbeat, the collective has gained a following in Spain’s underground and even rubbed shoulders with its mainstream.—
E.R. Pulgar,
Pitchfork,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Emily brought her dramatic energy to the shows, thrashing her skinny way through the crowds in her surrealist thrift-store getups, crowd-surfing and stage diving and taking elbows to the face with theatrical aplomb.—
Andrew Martin,
Vogue,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Locals flocking to the barrels Micromorphological observations and analysis showed that burying these barrels would have prevented them from freezing and would have preserved its chemical state before mixing it with sand and water, according to Heritage Daily.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Mar. 2026
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Trailing 102-91, Houston unleashed a 23-7 stampede, burying the Heat under a barrage of three-pointers.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Iran’s ballistic missiles and nuclear ambitions threaten the West — a threat so serious that the United States and Israel have been bombing the regime for more than two weeks.—
Alexander Gray,
Washington Post,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The decision was widely anticipated after the United States and Israel started bombing Iran less than three weeks ago.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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