as in defeat
failure to win a contest
suffered a shellacking at the hands of a vastly superior opposition
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in drubbing
to defeat by a large margin
the local football team was shellacked 35-0 in their final outing for the season
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shellacking
Kyle Khan-Mullins, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
After their most recent home loss on May 5, the Thunder bounced back with a 43-point shellacking of the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their second-round playoff battle.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 June 2025
Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellacking
Noun
Fresh off his shellacking of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor, New York state assembly member Zohran Mamdani is the hottest guest on the press circuit.
—Kyle Khan-Mullins, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
After their most recent home loss on May 5, the Thunder bounced back with a 43-point shellacking of the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their second-round playoff battle.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 June 2025
Verb
The Eagles proceeded to rip off 11 straight wins before their season ended with a disappointing 45-7 shellacking by eventual champion Broomfield in the semifinals.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellacking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shellacking
Noun
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Biden and, by extension, Harris will be remembered even and perhaps especially by Democrats as symbolizing disappointment and defeat.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Austin Corbett used stronger terms to describe the mood following the 26-10 defeat.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The expansion team has lost each of its last five games against the Lynx, and most recently suffered one of their worst losses of the season in Game 1 on Sunday in a 29-point defeat.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
17 Sep. 2025
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The biggest losses were reported in the District of Columbia ($34,400), Florida ($32,100), and Montana ($26,900).—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Boaters were the last to be warned to watch the sky as a line of wind-whipping storms pushed out to sea.—
Joe Dwinell,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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Golden State usually opens games whipping the ball around and making teams uncomfortable with its aggressive style of defense.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Genser argued that those injuries did not contribute to her death and that there was no evidence of a beating taking place in the condo.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Sep. 2025
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Detainees have alleged torture and beatings inside CECOT since their release.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For the first time, Israel launched an airstrike in Qatar, bombing a building in Doha that houses Hamas political leadership.—
Greg Dixon,
NPR,
9 Sep. 2025
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In this season of Platonic, Luke Macfarlane's character Charlie has a mental breakdown after bombing his dream opportunity to compete on Jeopardy!—
Dory Jackson,
People.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Jackson faced several setbacks this season but proved her fitness during the 100-meter dash rounds the past two days.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Sunday’s setback, Johnson said, occurred in the same affected area but in a new way.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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West Virginia started their season with a bang, trouncing Robert Morris by a score of 45-3.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The movie adaptation is also rife with metaphors about boys becoming men and overcoming life-or-death circumstances to make it out the other side.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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But in reality, deepfakes are getting better and the threat industry has many years of experience in honing lures to trick people, playing on emotions and overcoming natural suspicions and objections.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shellacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shellacking. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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