as in defeats
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shellackings
Noun
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Incumbent presidents generally don’t fare well in the mid-term elections, but Trump’s defeats could hand Democrats power to run Congress and impeach him again.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
4 Apr. 2026 -
Potter replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson after the country finished bottom of a World Cup qualifying group involving Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia with a record of two draws and four defeats.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The analysis, released Friday by the California Department of Insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, found that meeting wildfire safety standards for roughly 30,000 homes within the Eaton and Pacific Palisades burn areas would significantly cut average annual losses.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
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Corona del Mar’s boys volleyball team recently suffered a couple of losses in the Sunset League.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Of those seven losses, setbacks against Dallas and Chicago (while both were still trying to win) and Milwaukee could at least be rationalized.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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Despite these very public setbacks, the U-2 became a hidden success story and a major player during the Cold War.—
David Szondy
March 29,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Prosecutors said the beatings intensified after Nantwi bit a guard’s hand.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
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In Aden alone, the count is in the hundreds — most of them swallowed by a secret prison network managed by the UAE and its affiliated forces, where torture, beatings and abuse were common, according to the Yemeni government, human rights organizations and the United Nations.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
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“Shellackings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shellackings. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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