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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough (up)
Verb
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Mitch West, meanwhile, was licking his wounds on Monday night, when snow still hadn’t touched down in his region of South Carolina.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026 -
England’s Test team are still licking their wounds after their humbling Down Under.—
Sam Dalling,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Videos and photos seized from Epstein's homes in New York, Florida and the Virgin Islands didn't depict victims being abused or implicate anyone else in his crimes, a prosecutor wrote in one 2025 memo.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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At least two women who were prostituted and abused by Epstein and his clients had Colorado connections.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Police also found marijuana in a backpack, and one of the suspects tried to conceal his weapon by taking it out of his waistband and hiding it under the car seat, the release states.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Feb. 2026
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That's why the Club digs into a level of detail others might want to hide.—
,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Mobs attacked television vans and set cars ablaze as overrun hospitals struggled to cope with scores of injured people.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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The complication is not well understood but appears to be the result of the virus prompting the immune system to attack a certain protein that some brain cells produce.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But that gives us a different look and the versatility of being able to play the two of them together and pound the glass on both ends is a weapon for us.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
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That means sneakers, ideally a pair that’s durable enough to withstand pounding the pavements, will be essential to your roster of footwear.—
Natalie Hammond,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Authorities said surveillance video in the area shows Dickinson and Thompson walking together just moments before Thompson was ambushed in the middle of the street.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Given the lack of mangroves, snook in South Florida make do with boat docks, which provide protection from predators as well as sites from which to ambush smaller fish and crustaceans.—
Steve Waters,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The skier’s comments somehow came to the attention of the president, who lashed out at Hess on Truth Social on Sunday.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
8 Feb. 2026
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Whether the game is a blowout or comes down to a fateful goal-line stand, loyalists of one team may leap for joy, while others might lash out in anger, pummeling their TV sets or sinking into a deep postgame funk.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Social media served up a daily video deluge of heavily armed agents randomly manhandling dark-skinned people.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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The Pats manhandled Denver in the AFC Championship Game, thanks mostly to defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
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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 14 Feb. 2026.
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