as in to wax
to defeat by a large margin
the local football team was shellacked 35-0 in their final outing for the season
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shellac
Commissioner Greg Sankey spent time prior to his annual news conference before the SEC football championship to bask in his league shellacking the conference where basketball traditionally has just meant more.
—
Marc Weiszer, The Tennessean, 10 Dec. 2024
So the 22-year-old was quickly assigned to Iowa, joined the baby Wild in San Jose and was shellacked right off the hop to the tune of 12 goals allowed in five periods.
—Michael Russo, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
More:Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent stop in Dripping Springs to rally for Take our Border Back convoy
Clinton lost Texas by only 9 points, compared with the nearly 16-point shellacking President Barack Obama took from Republican Mitt Romney.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 4 Feb. 2024
Our protagonists can’t like each other too much at the start: Oliver (Darren Criss, as shellacked as a brunette Ken doll, with similarly hinged joints) is a Helperbot 3, an older model of a popular line of humanoid robots that are essentially Jeeves powered by battery.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shellac 
Marc Weiszer, The Tennessean, 10 Dec. 2024
So the 22-year-old was quickly assigned to Iowa, joined the baby Wild in San Jose and was shellacked right off the hop to the tune of 12 goals allowed in five periods.
—Michael Russo, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
More:Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent stop in Dripping Springs to rally for Take our Border Back convoy
Clinton lost Texas by only 9 points, compared with the nearly 16-point shellacking President Barack Obama took from Republican Mitt Romney.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 4 Feb. 2024
Our protagonists can’t like each other too much at the start: Oliver (Darren Criss, as shellacked as a brunette Ken doll, with similarly hinged joints) is a Helperbot 3, an older model of a popular line of humanoid robots that are essentially Jeeves powered by battery.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shellac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shellac
Verb
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The friends’ raucous intimacy—in many scenes, a woman is either painting another’s toenails or waxing her legs—dissolves as most of the women leave the country.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2025
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His shot has waxed and waned, as have his minutes as the team has gotten healthier.—
Eric Koreen,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Zinc oxide is a key ingredient in most infant diaper creams so its ultra gentle.—
Bea McMonagle,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
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To make the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, salt, and lime zest until light and fluffy.—
Neda Ulaby,
NPR,
23 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The destruction in parts of Altadena, a few miles to the west of Sierra Madre, and Pacific Palisades, which had burned in a separate fire on the other side of Los Angeles, made these areas appear bombed out.—
M. R. O’Connor,
The New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2025
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While The Crow bombed after a heartwarming buildup, opening at $4.6 million against a budget of at least $50 million, LaBeouf has appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis and shot a film with David Mamet, signaling a post–Me Too comeback.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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When this stress overcomes the strength of the rock to create a fault, or the friction along existing fault planes, the ground slips—releasing waves of energy.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
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The Chiefs couldn’t overcome losses to tight end Travis Kelce, who left the game at the end of the second quarter with a concussion, and defensive lineman Chris Jones, who left the game on the first drive of the third quarter with a knee injury.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
30 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The fire burned for five days in an isolated part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park before high winds whipped it up and swept it toward Gatlinburg.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA TODAY,
26 Jan. 2025
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The England midfielder had a shot of his own after bursting forward from midfield before whipping a free kick to Havertz, who headed over.—
Art de Roché,
The Athletic,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The night before the trial began in early September, a group of local feminists traveled around the city and pasted pieces of paper with letters on them to walls, in large collages.—
Catherine Porter,
New York Times,
20 Dec. 2024
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Don’t just copy and paste keywords from the job description.—
Julia Korn,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Lane said her family plans to bury Campos next to his father in Queens, New York.—
Chris Kenning,
USA TODAY,
31 Jan. 2025
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Humans may easily trigger avalanches large enough to bury or injure a person.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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For anyone under the impression that dogs are being skinned, perish the thought.—
Rosalie R. Radomsky,
New York Times,
24 Dec. 2024
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Almond is the star of the show here, in milk, oil, extract, and protein formats—delivering fatty acids and omega 9s to skin for improved softness and nourishment.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
18 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near shellac
Cite this Entry
“Shellac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shellac. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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