1
as in licks
to strike repeatedly
she was badly roughed up by her boxing partner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in abuses
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 roughs (up)
Verb
-
Then, Mitski licks up the blood on the girl’s finger.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026 -
After the drill, Ruin rolls onto his back, then licks a reporter's nose.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This campaign abuses WhatsApp Web to spread automatically once a device is infected.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
17 Jan. 2026
-
In the film, Victor emotionally abuses the Creature.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
In the present, Simon (now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) pounds his car’s steering wheel, driving away from wreckage.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The claw then releases the broken bikes and pounds them down once more for good measure.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An autoimmune disease is a chronic condition in which part of your immune system mistakenly attacks part of your own body.—
Ruth Jessen Hickman,
Health,
10 Feb. 2026
-
After learning that Casper had been diagnosed with Guillain Barré Syndrome, a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, Aidan Oldenburg, Ben Richardson and Luc Violette needed somebody with experience that could help them in the interim.—
Dane Mizutani,
Twin Cities,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
When season two begins, viewers meet a beautiful young Hispanic woman named Luz (Jeannine Mason), who hides on a boat traveling to a remote island, perhaps in the Caribbean, to make a liquor delivery for a wealthy businessman named Richard Helvig.—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
-
There are wool blankets draped atop cow print chairs, lambskin hides on the bar stools and a casual Dom Perignon on the menu.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Hard Truths premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival and followed Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy, an angry and depressed woman who lashes out at family and strangers, and whose constant criticism slowly isolates her.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
-
According to Augustinus Bader, apply to brows and lashes morning and night.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The retrospection tortures her.—
Alexandra Rockey Fleming,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Later, in one of the movie's most satisfying scenes, Millie locks Andrew in the attic and tortures him by loudly smashing each plate.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Thurman stars as The Bride, left for dead after her former boss and lover Bill ambushes her wedding rehearsal, shooting her in the head and stealing her unborn child.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
29 Nov. 2025
-
In the finale, Aggie — who has already been on the run from the authorities after Nile framed her for the kidnapping and murder of Teddy Fenig — ambushes Nina at her gallery and tries to convince her that Nile killed Maddie and was also responsible for Teddy’s death.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Nov. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Roughs (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughs%20%28up%29. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
