as in hammering
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1
as in bumping
to come into usually forceful contact with something
the car bashed into the tree with glass-shattering force
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slamming
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
you have to bash that door hard in order to get it open
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3
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
the angry child kept bashing her toy with a hammer until it broke
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4
as in attacking
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
in all of talk radio no other host seems to enjoy bashing liberals as much as he does
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of bashing
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Which seems like the anxiety Chalamet was trying to express with his needless opera bashing.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
Several former players have had enough of the Bam bashing.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2026
But Beshear hasn’t turned Trump-bashing into a 24/7 vocation, or a weight-lifting contest where the winner is the critic wielding the heaviest bludgeon.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Powell, known for a cool head and a quiet demeanor, has consistently avoided direct confrontations with Trump, even as the president's personal displeasure with the Fed chair escalated from behind the scenes pressure to public bashing.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 21 Jan. 2026
In the same way that writing had taught me to pay attention to life, to perpetually hoover up sensory details and bits of dialogue around me, trash bashing cultivated a new propensity for seeing interesting possibilities in everyday items.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
Those optics gave Democrats, particularly the moderate gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, room to run on the economy while largely steering clear of Trump-bashing.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
Peter Bart, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026
But things got wild when the robot started break dancing and bashing itself into a million robotic pieces.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
But the data showed his cheesesteaks were very much alive and selling daily by the thousands, no matter who was bashing them online.
—Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2026
In her testimony on March 24, 2026, Arielle claimed Gerhardt tried to pull her to the edge of a steep cliff before trying to inject her with an unknown substance and eventually bashing her head with a rock.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026
But in regulatory filings in recent months, the company has been urging the FCC to ditch the old rules while bashing rivals who are against the change.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 Apr. 2026
That edge is compounded by Liverpool’s recent struggles on the pitch, including a recent 4-0 bashing by Man City in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
—Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2026
One such case involved a man in Texas who had the gene associated with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, a condition that causes severe intellectual disability and self-harm—chewing one’s fingers and lips, head-bashing, eye-poking.
—Jerome Groopman, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The move comes just a few months after Mamdani took office, following a bitter campaign season last year that had the two Democrats taking turns bashing each other in often caustic and personal terms.
—CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Noun
The target of our petty president’s latest bashing is Pope Leo XIV, the first American leader of the Catholic Church, who seems to be a guy with Midwestern common sense.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Which seems like the anxiety Chalamet was trying to express with his needless opera bashing.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
Several former players have had enough of the Bam bashing.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2026
But Beshear hasn’t turned Trump-bashing into a 24/7 vocation, or a weight-lifting contest where the winner is the critic wielding the heaviest bludgeon.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Powell, known for a cool head and a quiet demeanor, has consistently avoided direct confrontations with Trump, even as the president's personal displeasure with the Fed chair escalated from behind the scenes pressure to public bashing.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 21 Jan. 2026
In the same way that writing had taught me to pay attention to life, to perpetually hoover up sensory details and bits of dialogue around me, trash bashing cultivated a new propensity for seeing interesting possibilities in everyday items.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
Those optics gave Democrats, particularly the moderate gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, room to run on the economy while largely steering clear of Trump-bashing.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, film audiences were flocking to gangster fare like Public Enemy, Little Caesar or Scarface – the bad guys bashing the establishment.
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026
But things got wild when the robot started break dancing and bashing itself into a million robotic pieces.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
But the data showed his cheesesteaks were very much alive and selling daily by the thousands, no matter who was bashing them online.
—Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2026
In her testimony on March 24, 2026, Arielle claimed Gerhardt tried to pull her to the edge of a steep cliff before trying to inject her with an unknown substance and eventually bashing her head with a rock.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026
But in regulatory filings in recent months, the company has been urging the FCC to ditch the old rules while bashing rivals who are against the change.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 Apr. 2026
That edge is compounded by Liverpool’s recent struggles on the pitch, including a recent 4-0 bashing by Man City in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
—Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2026
One such case involved a man in Texas who had the gene associated with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, a condition that causes severe intellectual disability and self-harm—chewing one’s fingers and lips, head-bashing, eye-poking.
—Jerome Groopman, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The move comes just a few months after Mamdani took office, following a bitter campaign season last year that had the two Democrats taking turns bashing each other in often caustic and personal terms.
—CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bashing
Noun
-
The tap-tap-tap hammering up and down my spine and around my shoulder blades actually soothed me nearly to sleep.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
In non-CinemaCon news, the looksmaxx influencer managed to unite the internets in mocking his dew-eyed meltdown and interview walk-off over being asked modestly difficult questions about his reputation (instead of being asked, say, which moisturizer is best for post-jaw hammering).—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Some of the recent videos show the runners bumping into security guards and shoving past church staff, then leaving after being cornered and told to get off the property.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Gulutzan shook things up in the middle of Game 4, bumping Thomas Harley up to the top pairing alongside Heiskanen.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar quickly responded on X, slamming his Ukrainian counterpart for conducting diplomacy on social media.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Trump’s remarks came hours after the first lady released a statement slamming Kimmel for the comment.—
Sydney Topf,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Maximilien, a French national, allegedly uploaded a clip of himself licking a straw from an iJooz vending machine before putting it back in the dispenser.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
-
There’s Cassie licking a melting ice cream cone as the ice cream drips down her bare chest.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Winger Xavi Simons’ anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury will keep him out for some time, with striker Dominic Solanke also pulling up — albeit his ailment appears less serious — at Molineux to cast doubt over Spurs’ attacking firepower in the upcoming weeks.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
He was also found guilty of two counts of assault for attacking two other men with butcher knives.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Arsenal enters the match as the favorite, but Sporting has been resilient in the Champions League, rebounding from a 3-0 loss to tournament darlings Bodo/Glimt with a 5-0 thrashing in Lisbon.—
Pueng Vongs,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
His only Champions League goal arrived in January’s 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag, and his only assists in the competition came in similarly comfortable wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jurors then heard sounds of banging and choking — and Athena screaming and crying, the Star-Telegram reports.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
-
On the night he was arrested, Martinez confessed to shaking Heather and banging her head against a crib, but later recanted that confession.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The movie's December 2022 release was largely overshadowed by the aftermath of Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at that year's Academy Awards.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
-
This is simply slapping lipstick on a pig and, once again, taking no accountability.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bashing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bashing. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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