1
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in abusing
to abuse physically
the photographer claimed that he had been roughed up by the actor's bodyguards outside the club
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughing (up)
Verb
-
That could look like gliding your fingers down them, kissing, licking, or gently biting those areas.—
Essence,
Essence,
11 Sep. 2025 -
In the video, the sound of Bambi's stomping, licking, meowing and general everyday life has delighted viewers.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Langley says Axon is a monopolist abusing its market position to choke out competition.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
One end of the spectrum are stress fracture, which are very small, often described as hairline fractures that result from repetitive force and pounding to the bone over time.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
It’s typed with such pounding despair and fury that certain letters of the alphabet actually tear through the paper (this was an old, manual typewriter).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
While Qataris may now indeed question the value of their military cooperation with the United States and its designation of Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, Turkey’s military presence in the country also failed to prevent Israel from attacking.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Show Viz Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest had counter-attacking licked.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But this chassis could be the ultimate mainstream case for cable-hiding showoffs.—
Thomas Soderstrom,
PC Magazine,
13 Sep. 2025
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Some are found lurking in remote corners of the world, while others have been hiding right under our noses.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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San Francisco tackle Williams is 6-foot-5 and 320, and has been manhandling NFL linemen since Hufanga was a boy running around his parents’ farm in Oregon.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But when this lashing out becomes regular, the partner on the receiving end will start to expect their character to be attacked just as regularly.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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The company destroyed a piece of lashing wire that investigators believe slapped an Xcel electrical conductor and caused arcing that led to the fire, said Matthew Delinko with Bauman, Lowe, Witt & Maxwell, a law firm representing insurance companies.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
City enters Week 2 of the new campaign as Premier League leader after mauling its way to a 4-0 win over Wolves on opening weekend.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Roughing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughing%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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