as in extortion
the exaction of a grossly excessive charge for goods or services
a hotline that consumers may use to report gouging at gasoline stations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in stinging
to charge (someone) too much for goods or services
since I had forgotten the sunscreen, I was forced to buy it from the concession stand at the beach—where they gouged me for it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of gouging
James Grebey, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Craig Shoup, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Critics say the city is gouging ordinary residents and tourists to help balance its budget.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
Even if what Weyland-Yutani has is blood-sucking, eye-gouging, and chest-bursting alien monsters.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
Minadeo jumped on Buck's back and put him in a choke hold while gouging at his eyes, according to the lawsuit.
—Craig Shoup, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Critics say the city is gouging ordinary residents and tourists to help balance its budget.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gouging
Noun
-
Be suspicious of urgent messages One of the most alarming details in the Anthropic report was how the hacker used AI to craft convincing extortion notes.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Nearly half the film focuses on the extortion effort of the mother’s nurse (Billie Lourd).—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
It’s revealed that Sklar was Lori’s inspiration as a child to become an artist, only to crush that spark a dozen or so years later with stinging cruelty.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Perhaps the loss, coupled with seeing Parsons thrive in Green Bay as the Packers get off to a hot start, is stinging the Cowboys’ top cornerback in Week 1.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
When yet another affair is discovered (Kate Upton), all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB.—
Caitlin White,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Byron had his arms wrapped around the company's HR chief, Kristin Cabot, and subsequently faced cheating allegations after they were spotted on the jumbotron.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
California is the biggest target after the state self-reported overcharging the federal government for health care services delivered to immigrants without legal status, determined to be at least $500 million, spurring the threat of a lawsuit.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Sep. 2025
-
California is the biggest target after the state self-reported overcharging the federal government for health care services delivered to immigrants without legal status, determined to be at least $500 million, spurring the threat of a lawsuit.—
Angela Hart,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gouging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gouging. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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