MAULED Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

mauled

verb

past tense of maul

as in abused

to abuse physically demonstrators who claimed that they had been mauled by the police

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as in licked

to strike repeatedly the irate store owner was mauling the shoplifter when the police showed up

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mauled And statistically, your chances of getting jumped and mauled by a bear are so low compared to any other real danger in the backcountry. — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026 Also in July, in Kenai, a local resident was mauled by a brown bear that had climbed over the fence into her front yard, with its two cubs, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. — Stephen Smith, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026 The attack comes less than a month after another woman was mauled by a bear in Anchorage. — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026 Few fishing experiences rival the rush of easing close to hundreds of seabirds swooping and diving on baitfish being herded and mauled by a school of slashing striped bass. — Ken Perrotte, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026 Backstage, Jey Uso took out Sikoa, and Fatu and Jimmy Uso mauled LA Knight and Sikoa later in the night. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 Chris Brown was found liable by a Los Angeles jury on Tuesday for $13 million in the gruesome case of a dog that mauled and disfigured his housekeeper at his home in 2020. — Chris Willman, Variety, 1 July 2026 Beaches in Sydney's eastern suburbs reopened on Monday despite Stewart having been mauled by a great white shark just two days ago, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. — Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026 Australia’s other fatal shark attack this year occurred in January, when a 12-year-old boy died in a hospital days after he was mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. — ABC News, 13 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mauled

Verb

Furious season 1 wrapped up the case as Alice arrested Catherine at Jay Easton’s (Peter McRobbie) house — the site where Catherine and her friend Isabel (Larissa Campos) were abused.

— Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
That series revealed just how little many local police departments are doing to make sure street-camera data is not being abused.

— Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of abused

Verb

Tuxedo kitten Paolina bounced onto my chest and licked my fingers.

— Solvej Schou, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Her entire face got licked clean off her head when suburban floodwaters breached the cardboard hull protecting Kath’s basement memorabilia stack a few months before I was born.

— Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of licked

Verb

But the university’s recent actions in a lawsuit filed by a former student who was attacked on campus during that period appear at odds with that commitment.

— Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 28 Aug. 2026
Not long after Bungalow 8 opened, the World Trade Center was attacked.

— Derek C. Blasberg, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

The team's official drumline, The Pack, pounded on illuminated drums during quarter breaks, while Skye, the team's sassy, blue-haired lioness mascot, jumped onto the T-shirt cannon to launch souvenir merchandise high into stadium seats.

— Odette Yousef, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026
Rodriguez pounded the strike zone, issuing his only walk in the sixth inning.

— Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of pounded

Verb

New England lost in demoralizing fashion to the Seahawks last February, 29-13, as the Seattle defense manhandled the Patriots’ offense.

— Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 20 Aug. 2026
During this stretch, the Colts will face three AFC opponents, including the Steelers, who manhandled them last year and forced Jones to commit a career-high five turnovers in a loss.

— James Boyd, New York Times, 15 May 2026

Definition of manhandled

Verb

Workers lashed the broad branches together with steel cables and chains.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
The fight intensified Sunday when Mark Goldfeder, head of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, lashed out at Bonta and suggested California’s top law enforcement official was doing Ruffalo’s bidding by filing the antitrust lawsuit.

— Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of lashed

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“Mauled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mauled. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of mauled

verb

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