as in blows
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
gave the TV a good wham with her fist, and suddenly the picture came back on
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whams
Noun
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Ukraine’s constant innovation in drone technology is giving its military an edge on the battlefield, dealing major blows to Russia’s army and economy.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026 -
Israel and Lebanon are currently scheduled to engage in direct talks in Washington on Tuesday as Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade blows.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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An attack rears its ugly head, and the security team smacks it down.—
Neil J. Rubenking,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
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Then reality smacks you in the face.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Another day, as Mom loads the children into the car, Jeremy tosses a basketball against the house, again and again, his passive aggression registering through the ball’s unyielding thuds and his own frozen gaze.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
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The call, which the filing says was made within two minutes of the thuds, was to an employee of the company that owned the development where Okland was hosting the open house.—
Karen Cortes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At the end of the night, during the bows, Butler slaps the guys playing her two antagonists gently on their butts, a gesture that would have jarred in most stagings but fully in keeping with the inclusive, humanistic vibe of this production.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
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The music also slaps, synthesizing industrial, electro-pop and iPod party music into a work that feels honest and the right kind of raunchy.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, neighbors can still hear the thumps.—
Tyler Jett,
Des Moines Register,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With runners on the corners, Martinez whacks a two-run, RBI double to tie it at five.—
Zoe Collins Rath,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Mar. 2026
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Then little Holly Wheeler and her 10-year-old friends, including the Season 5 favorite Derek (Jake Connelly), all swarm into the basement and take over the D&D table in a passing of the torch that basically whacks the audience over our collective heads.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The 42-year-old Swanson overmatched Landwehr with a bevy of punches to the head before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight with 54 seconds left in the opening round.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
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This Midwestern city, which hosted the country’s first-ever rock concert in 1952, punches above its weight in everything from cuisine to the arts to parks, and is home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, often cited as one of Ohio’s top tourist attractions.—
Paul J. Heney,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Denver Post gave Friednash, a corporate Democratic centrist mouthpiece, the opportunity to take swipes at Melat Kiros, who garnered nearly two-thirds of the caucus vote for the 1st Congressional District race.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
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Xi’s outreach to Cheng came along with overt swipes at Taiwan’s current government under President Lai Ching-te, who is shunned by Beijing as a dangerous ‘separatist’ for rejecting China’s claim that Taiwan is its territory.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
10 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Whams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whams. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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