as in violent
marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity
the film lacks compelling characters, but it has plenty of bang-bang action
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Recent Examples of bang-bang
On the second costly infield play, in the fifth inning, Chapman moved quickly on Xander Bogaerts’ dribbler, but Schmitt, anticipating the bang-bang play, extended too early and missed the high throw.
—
Shayna Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Apr. 2026
Sometimes these are bang-bang things.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
On second down, Gonzalez stapled himself to Bills receiver Keon Coleman in man coverage, then drifted expertly in zone to jump Khalil Shakir from behind on a bang-bang incompletion that forced a field goal attempt.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Despite the bang-bang nature of the play, To’oTo’o was called for unnecessary roughness.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Ortiz was standing behind Lowe as the bang-bang play unfolded.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
He’s also involved in some dodgy side hustles, which leads to a lot of peripheral gunplay and tangential, ha-ha–bang-bang set pieces that feel cherry-picked from Coen’s back catalog.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025
The bang-bang ending gave Colorado (35-89) its third straight win and clinched the four-game series with the Diamondbacks.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Shayna Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Apr. 2026
Sometimes these are bang-bang things.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
On second down, Gonzalez stapled himself to Bills receiver Keon Coleman in man coverage, then drifted expertly in zone to jump Khalil Shakir from behind on a bang-bang incompletion that forced a field goal attempt.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Despite the bang-bang nature of the play, To’oTo’o was called for unnecessary roughness.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Ortiz was standing behind Lowe as the bang-bang play unfolded.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
He’s also involved in some dodgy side hustles, which leads to a lot of peripheral gunplay and tangential, ha-ha–bang-bang set pieces that feel cherry-picked from Coen’s back catalog.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025
The bang-bang ending gave Colorado (35-89) its third straight win and clinched the four-game series with the Diamondbacks.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bang-bang
Adjective
-
Opponents will learn about his violent play style very quickly.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The government actually deported more than six hundred and seventy-five thousand people, but getting just to that number involved broad and violent sweeps and the expulsion of people who were in the country legally, actions that led to widespread protests.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Behind a ferocious defense and an offense that couldn’t miss, the Knicks led by 25 points after one quarter, by as many as 51 points in the first half, and by as many as 61 points after halftime.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
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Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap have always been ferocious rappers, two goliaths spitting bilingual bars over gritty electronica with the couplet-completing precision of Run the Jewels.—
Dean Van Nguyen,
Pitchfork,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Officials were furious about a video Mamdani made in front of Griffin's building to justify taxing the owners of multimillion dollar apartments.—
Marcia Kramer,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The latter song exemplifies Martin’s neck-snappingly furious style; his drumming simply never settles.—
Dean Van Nguyen,
Pitchfork,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Along the way, there have been fast times, big doping busts and fierce corporate competition for the fastest humans in history.—
Sara Germano,
Sportico.com,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Pre-marketing fight lands in court The fiercest pushback to Compass’s marketing strategy came from Zillow, the country’s largest home-search platform.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
From the transformative power of novels to raising a Black son in a turbulent era, Ward offers a deeply moving testament to resilience, storytelling, and the enduring beauty of life.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
2 May 2026
-
Much like the rest of what’s already been a turbulent season, Orlando has made this playoff series as difficult as possible.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
Adjective
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The attack happened Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The 6-3, 318-pound Hunter has good length (33 1/4-inch arms) but lacks explosive traits, as evidenced by his 21 1/2-inch vertical jump and 8-foot, four-inch broad jump.—
Tobias Bass,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Junior starter Colin Jack settled in after a rough third inning to pitch a complete game for Batavia (9-9-1, 5-3).—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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It's garnered a reputation for rough conditions for people in custody and guards alike over its history.—
Amethyst Martinez,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bang-bang.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bang-bang. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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