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
And it certainly can be noticed, both in its abundance, and in the case of the Warriors’ 129-104 shellacking on Friday night at the hands of the Nuggets in an Emirates Cup group stage matchup, in its absence.
—
Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
While Cincinnati’s visit to Detroit was one of the more intriguing matchups on the fall calendar, the loss of Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ subsequent 48-10 shellacking under the horns of the Vikings have made the team a liability of sorts.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Robert Morris opened the campaign with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia before taking a 56-17 shellacking at Youngstown State.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Pritzker shellacked Bailey in 2022.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellac
Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
While Cincinnati’s visit to Detroit was one of the more intriguing matchups on the fall calendar, the loss of Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ subsequent 48-10 shellacking under the horns of the Vikings have made the team a liability of sorts.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Robert Morris opened the campaign with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia before taking a 56-17 shellacking at Youngstown State.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Pritzker shellacked Bailey in 2022.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shellac
Verb
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This mountain contemporary has a ski room with boot dryers and a waxing station; Park City Mountain Resort, which hosted events during the 2002 Winter Olympics, is about five minutes away.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
26 Jan. 2026
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To see the event, look to the west after sunset to spot Saturn just below the waxing crescent moon.—
Eric Lagatta,
AZCentral.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a large bowl, cream together room temp butter and sugar, then add sour cream.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Jan. 2026
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Sandy brown, deep blue, and cream conjure up visions of a desert landscape.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Iran attacked Al Udeid in June in response to Trump sending American warplanes to bomb Iranian nuclear enrichment sites during the war last year.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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Last June, after indirect nuclear negotiations collapsed, the United States joined Israel in a 12-day war with Iran, bombing three of the country’s key nuclear facilities.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Global Compassion Coalition says that the first step to overcoming helplessness is to practice acceptance instead of resistance, which is a hard pill to take at the moment.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
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One night after the Warriors snapped Minnesota's 103-game streak of scoring at least 100 points — the third-longest in NBA history — the Timberwolves overcame a cold start from the floor and 23 turnovers.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Even then, though, leadership didn’t whip against the bill, which ultimately passed with seven Democrats voting in favor.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
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In an age when polarized politics have whipped extremists into a frenzy and disagreeing with someone’s views justifies physical assault among fringe elements, the assault on Omar is a new abysmal milestone of societal degradation.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Given one final chance to tie, Mazzulla sent Gonzalez back in as a late sub, and the 19-year-old buried one from the left corner to force a second OT.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
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Tourists are urged to lock up their food and trash, and anglers instructed to bury any bait that may attract scavengers.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the case of the one depicting a man and a woman, the researchers tweaked the image to paste grins on them.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
26 Jan. 2026
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Ask me to paste an image of my calendar to get the necessary information.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The animals were valued for their fur and often trapped and skinned, while logging destroyed much of their habitat.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
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In the fall, the workers trade in their pruning shears for knives sharp enough to skin a deer in minutes.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
28 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shellac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shellac. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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