rough (up)

verb

Definition of rough (up)next
1
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to abuse
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough (up)
  1. lick
  2. abuse
  3. hide
  4. attack
  5. pound
  6. ambush
  7. lash
  8. manhandle
Verb
  • Most other social mammals groom by licking, but primates are unique among tetrapod vertebrates in our reliance on hands and feet for tasks many other taxa use their faces for, says Borths.
    Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Zia was licking herself and developing hotspots from itchiness.
    Jen McCaffery, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
Definition of lick
Verb
  • That brings enormous power, and the ability to abuse that power.
    Daniel Eagan, IndieWire, 19 Nov. 2024
  • That post in question found Harper outright denying Richards’ lawsuit claims that Diddy subjected them to abuse.
    Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 19 Nov. 2024
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Three men accused of stealing more than 1,200 pairs of Air Jordans from a train in the Mojave Desert were foiled by a GPS tracker hidden inside the shipment, authorities said.
    Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2024
  • But Kahane would always hide away in the bedroom, careful not to set a dangerous example for her child (who is now 23 and contributed an essay to her book) with her risky photography style.
    Oscar Holland, CNN, 28 Nov. 2024
Definition of hide
Verb
  • Insurgents attacked a military airbase southeast of Aleppo with drones early Friday, destroying a helicopter, the Anadolu Agency reported.
    SARAH EL DEEB THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, arkansasonline.com, 30 Nov. 2024
  • The Raiders, much like the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday, attacked the Chiefs’ biggest weakness: the left tackle position, the lineman responsible for protecting Mahomes’ blind side.
    Vic Tafur, The Athletic, 30 Nov. 2024
Definition of attack
Verb
  • My Feminism Was Shaped by the Spice Girls The hospital was only a mile away, and as the ambulance accelerated, so did my pounding heart.
    Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
    Kareem Chehayeb and Tia Goldenberg, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Nov. 2024
Definition of pound
Verb
  • The suspect then ambushed Dawson, shooting him multiple times.
    Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 26 Nov. 2024
  • Gunmen ambushed a convoy of vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, killing at least 38 people and wounding 20 others.
    Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
Definition of ambush
Verb
  • The Owl, the father figure, flies into rages, yelling and occasionally lashing out with a hand or foot.
    Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Following his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump lashed out at ABC over the moderators' fact-checking efforts.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Definition of lash
Verb
  • But Ait-Nouri was physically manhandled by Saka in a duel early on, a clear sign of how dominant the winger is becoming.
    Jordan Campbell, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
  • Iris ends up getting manhandled a little, but at least no one is killed.
    Noel Murray, Vulture, 7 July 2024
Definition of manhandle
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near rough (up)

roughs (up)

rough (up)

rouging

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Rough (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

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