caning

verb

present participle of cane
as in spanking

Related Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for caning
  1. flagellating
  2. smacking
  3. slapping
  4. boxing
  5. chopping
  6. thwacking
  7. whacking
  8. hitting
Verb
  • Some go further, flagellating themselves or using a sword to strike their forehead to draw blood.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2026
  • His only way of finding any kind of life for himself is to embrace evil, to stop running away from it, to try to stop morally flagellating himself.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of flagellating
Verb
  • But Varma and Shivam Dube (27) upped the ante in the final three overs by smacking 57 runs against Sufyan Moqim, Ayub and Ahmed Daniyal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Carrington was ejected from the game in the first half after smacking Cunningham across the face during Cunningham's layup attempt.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of smacking
Verb
  • Less than three months after that deal was announced in January 2022, Smith became an industry pariah after slapping Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, earning a 10-year ban from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Hochman said the nannies were caught on video spanking, slapping or hitting the children.
    — News Editor, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of slapping
Verb
  • Adam Rodriguez as Ruben Chapa, a trainer at the local El Centro boxing gym.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Eubank Jr was seven years older than Benn, five years further into his professional career and, more pertinently, boxing at middleweight, three weight classes higher than super-lightweight Benn.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of boxing
Verb
  • Jegadish clipped her smart phone to a headset and began chopping a carrot, her phone recording her every hand movement.
    — Diaa Hadid, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Williams-Sonoma spent most of the past year chopping between $165 and $220 with no real direction.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of chopping
Verb
  • Modern readers may take heart in the fact that there are many excellent critics thwacking through the slop—albeit with freelance machetes, on newfangled platforms.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Max Weinberg sat at his set, thwacking his floor tom, while Lahav fiddled with his dials, stalked into the studio to unplug, replug, and then just physically move the microphone closer to the set, then to the side, and then farther away.
    — Peter Ames Carlin, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Definition of thwacking
Verb
  • There are frightening stories of swordfish charging boats, and even spearing their transoms and whacking propellers.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Yes, there were moments of humor, such as getting magic potions around the campfire at the end of each stage by whacking helpless little elves, but most of it was played straight, to great effect.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of whacking
Verb
  • Social media videos of him hitting tennis balls and baseballs while listing his policy proposals have provided a font of online mockery.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Lips and eyes were also adorned at the L’Oreal Paris booth, where guests received touch-ups before hitting the adjacent Allure Red Carpet.
    — Eden Stuart, Allure, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of hitting
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.

Browse Nearby Words

canines
caning
canister
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Cite this Entry

“Caning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caning. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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