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
  • And resist the urge to lick your lips when they’re chapped, Davis says.
    Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Another sculpture show London licking a disembodied human hand.
    Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
Definition of lick
Verb
  • The father of the 13-year-old Arizona boy abused by his sixth-grade teacher recorded himself speaking over the phone with both the teacher and her husband, both of whom seemingly tried to encourage the victim’s family to settle the matter outside of court.
    Liam Quinn, People.com, 26 Dec. 2024
  • So begins Hendrix’s horror novel about Fern, a pregnant teenager who is sent to a brutal school for girls where the young charges are abused and controlled.
    New York Times, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Yang then bemoaned how people shoot lasers at him and hide their kids.
    Anne McCarthy, Variety, 22 Dec. 2024
  • Discover joy and wonder hidden behind the daily routine of a konbini worker, explore every nook and cranny around the store, and help your customers navigate their lives in branching conversations with meaningful choices!
    Mitch Wallace, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of hide
Verb
  • Unlike the seasonal influenza viruses, bird flu doesn't attack the cell receptors that predominate in a person's upper airways.
    Will Stone, NPR, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Violence erupted when a man began attacking July Fourth celebrants the night before, leaving four others hospitalized.
    Times Photography Staff, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of attack
Verb
  • Consider marinating or pounding it thin for quicker and more tender results when needed.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2024
  • And in Yemen, the Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally, have been pounded in air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition in response to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
    Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of pound
Verb
  • Lopez Ramirez is accused of ambushing his 57-year-old mother — who was baking cookies at the time of the attack — upon returning from a trip to the laundromat around 7 p.m.
    Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 28 Dec. 2024
  • Mangione, of Towson, Md., is accused of ambushing the 50-year-old Thompson as the executive arrived to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference.
    MARK SCOLFORO, arkansasonline.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Definition of ambush
Verb
  • Relentless storms are forecast to lash the Northwest this weekend as the East Coast braces for severe weather that could delay flights and snarl traffic during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
    Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2024
  • Of course, formerly powerful women lashing out at a looming insignificance has at times been a staple of Hollywood cinema; the apotheosis is the delusional diva Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.
    Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024
Definition of lash
Verb
  • The New York Giants were manhandled by the Detroit Lions in their first joint practice last summer.
    Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 5 Aug. 2024
  • Yet Ait-Nouri gave Cutler and Bentley the slip in an attempt to confront Burns again, only for Dawson to grab him and manhandle him away.
    Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 15 Dec. 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

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Cite this Entry

“Rough (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough%20%28up%29. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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