as in dinosaur
something that is unusually large and powerful
a whale of a pickup truck
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to hit
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
whaled the ball so hard that it sailed over the fence and into the neighbor's yard
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to hide
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
whaled the rug with a broom to knock the dirt out of it
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
mercilessly whaled the pickpocket for stealing from her purse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of whale
Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
Like whales and dolphins, modern seagrasses descend from land-dwelling ancestors.
—David George Haskell, Big Think, 27 Mar. 2026
The reserve’s name contradicts its value as one of the world’s most ecologically and culturally significant landscapes, offering critical habitat for migratory birds, brown bear, caribou, threatened polar bears, walrus, and endangered beluga whales.
—Stephanie Pearson, Outside, 17 Mar. 2026
And then there are the whales—Bitcoin’s own leviathans.
—Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whale
Noun
Eleven whales — most of them female — surfaced, their heads facing one another, and started thrashing and diving above and below the water.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
Like whales and dolphins, modern seagrasses descend from land-dwelling ancestors.
—David George Haskell, Big Think, 27 Mar. 2026
The reserve’s name contradicts its value as one of the world’s most ecologically and culturally significant landscapes, offering critical habitat for migratory birds, brown bear, caribou, threatened polar bears, walrus, and endangered beluga whales.
—Stephanie Pearson, Outside, 17 Mar. 2026
And then there are the whales—Bitcoin’s own leviathans.
—Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whale
Noun
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As for which dinosaurs laid them, reporting suggests multiple species may be represented.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
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Free admission gets you dinosaur skeletons, the Hope Diamond and a live butterfly pavilion.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Five pitchers combined for nine strikeouts and allowed just hits for Andrew (4-3).—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
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Among them was Linda Parker, the president and CEO of Women In Distress of Broward County, who said Metayer’s death hit close to home.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The photograph feels funereal but rich, somehow—evocative of the days when Edith Wharton’s troubled characters tried to hide from others’ eyes, while the carriage horses clopped along, each step as heavy as destiny.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
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Listen fully, because useful details hide in ordinary words.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Five caribou stood licking at the stain.—
Frank Glaser,
Outdoor Life,
1 Apr. 2026
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The department shared photos of Ziggy, still wearing a bandage on his left hind leg, jumping up and licking Spring's face during a recent visit.—
Neal Riley,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
31 Mar. 2026
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And American tech giants like Amazon, OpenAI and Microsoft see the Gulf states’ abundant and cheap energy and vast land as key to their AI infrastructure buildouts.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Rockets are a team that lost its starting point guard (Fred VanVleet) at the start of the year while the Knicks brought back and built upon the exact same core that punched the franchise’s first ticket to the conference finals in the last quarter-century.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
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Manning allegedly punched and kicked Hartman in the face and torso, scratched her, choked her and grabbed her by the hair and slammed her against the floor and wall.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Children too short to see the stage stood on their tip-toes to watch Kevin Reyes, the actor who played the part of Jesus, being whipped.—
Laura Turbay,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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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
Verb
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The school had also employed about two dozen teachers and administrative staff, many of whom were young graduates in their 20s now without an income – at a time when their nation’s already struggling economy has been further pounded by war.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whale. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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