as in defeat
failure to win a contest
took a serious trouncing during the first game but came back to win the next two
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in whipping
to defeat by a large margin
our candidate trounced her opponent in the election, winning with 76% of the vote
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Recent Examples of trouncing
Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
Muller’s team has won seven of those encounters, including the 2014 World Cup Final and an 8-2 trouncing of Barcelona that was the club’s worst loss in more than half a century.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 5 Dec. 2025
LaFleur’s team is 1-0 in the division thanks to its season-opening trouncing of the Lions and is sixth in the NFC playoff picture.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
Isiah Pacheco also put together 57 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs' trouncing of the Raiders.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
With the Chiefs appearing more vulnerable in a season coming off a Super Bowl trouncing, Buffalo—which opens its 2025 campaign Sunday night at home against another formidable foe, the Baltimore Ravens—is poised for a breakthrough.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 28 Nov. 2025
The doctrine died a surer death with the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove its rogue leader, Manuel Noriega, convicted of drug-running and guilty of trouncing his country’s democracy.
—Alan McPherson, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2025
With the Dragons trouncing Byron Nelson and Trinity, the gap between them and the rest of the competition is incredibly wide.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2025
Though Roan is a total force on stage, polished and magnetic while trouncing around a set made to look like an illustrated fairytale castle, the show is not without her signature frankness.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 21 Sep. 2025
After an uninspiring 10-9 win over Kennesaw State, Wake Forest bounced back in a big way, trouncing Western Carolina 42-10.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took a victory lap Wednesday after trouncing Josh Kraft by a 48-point margin in the preliminary election, saying that her sweep of every ward was indicative of voters feeling the city is moving in the right direction.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
Creative tension with old-school Republicans in the first term and then genuine fears about his own reelection following the trouncing the GOP got in 2018 produced a far more popular version of Trumpism than the current undiluted dose.
—Verb
Montrose has crushed its Front Range foes in the playoffs, beating Frederick 55-6 in the first round and trouncing Monarch 56-27 in the quarters.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for trouncing
Noun
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Quick was hardly to blame for New York's eighth defeat in nine games, with mistakes by teammates in front of him putting the veteran goaltender in all sorts of difficult positions.—
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The debate follows the November defeat of Proposition Q, a ballot measure that would have increased Austin’s property tax rate by 20% to fund public safety and infrastructure projects.—
Verb
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The cold weather shouldn’t be a huge factor unless the wind starts whipping.—
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The wind was whipping throughout Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, that day, which had a massive impact on the kicking game.—
Noun
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School desegregation, voting rights and public-accommodation battles – especially across the South – had led to shootings and beatings of African Americans by white counterprotesters and police.—
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Non-league Macclesfield Town produced one of the FA Cup’s most startling soccer upsets on Saturday beating titleholders Crystal Palace 2–1 in a third‑round thriller.—
Verb
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The team overcoming those injuries defined the season.—
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The search company has been on the rise after putting together the pieces for its AI comeback and overcoming key regulatory hurdles last year.—
Noun
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But those guards fell crashing down on Wednesday night in a brutally honest assessment of his team following Boise State’s (9-6, 1-3 Mountain West) 75-58 home loss to Grand Canyon (9-5, 2-1) at ExtraMile Arena.—
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Despite the losses, Damon traveled to Texas and won the national title, dedicating the victory to his family and supporters.—
Verb
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The Sharks were hoping to bounce back from their most lopsided loss of the season, a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.—
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Germany clinched its spot in the World Cup by thrashing Slovakia 6-0.—
Verb
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However, as the friends were returning from Castle Peak, an avalanche was triggered on the backside of the mountain, burying Thomason.—
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The sophomore erupted for 14 points in the frame, burying a pair of threes as Malden Catholic pulled away for good.—
Verb
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Interestingly the pool scene, where Kevin loses his dad’s massive swim trunks while bombing in the pool, was filmed at the Four Seasons Chicago – the Plaza Hotel doesn’t have an indoor pool.—
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One recent example is former President Barack Obama not seeking congressional authorization or providing Congress a heads-up before bombing Libya in 2011.—
Cite this Entry
“Trouncing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trouncing. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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