THUDDING Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

thudding

verb

present participle of thud

as in bumping

to come into usually forceful contact with something the snowball thudded against the side of my car

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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 thudding The players actually are doing a pretty good job of thudding each other without crossing the line. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026 Running backs earn trust not just through their burst past thudding defenders in no-tackle practices, but especially through their pass-protection ability and receiver capabilities. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 24 July 2026 But the data center surge could come to a sudden, thudding halt if those big companies do not soon see a return on their investment. — Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 2 July 2026 This music is often so simplistic—tenth-grade emo-thirst-trap-core with yearning synths, thudding drums, and maybe a lick of guitar—that a machine could do it too. — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 25 June 2026 Some place where the days were days and the nights fell with thudding certainty. — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026 My heart begins thudding in time with her step. — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 9 June 2026 The mantra is set against the kind of thudding club beat that defined the earliest phases of her career. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2026 Each must traverse more than a mile-and-a-half of terrain, through a canyon, into shadows and out, over rolls that hurl the body half a football field through the air before thudding it back down again. — Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thudding

Verb

The Goyard Saint Louis entered the top 10 ranking at number seven, bumping the Celine Ava off the list entirely, according to the report.

— Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
There can be two women who are strong and dynamic, who are, at points, up against each other or bumping heads, but have the same mission and goal.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of bumping

Verb

Modeling work suggests the duo will keep orbiting our star for millions of years before ultimately slamming into either Earth or Venus.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
The impact caused the Camry to spin around, slamming into the back of a southbound 2021 Toyota RAV4.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of slamming

Verb

Byrne cited incidents involving horses collapsing in city streets and colliding with vehicles, and said more than 70% of New Yorkers support a ban, a figure Fox News Digital has not independently verified.

— Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Record spending The lack of a quorum is colliding with the most expensive election on record.

— Gabe Kaminsky, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of colliding

Verb

Holt had been smashing the glass of a jewelry kiosk stand with a blunt object, police said.

— Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the squad took his ball-respecting mantra to its logical extreme, seemingly reluctant to sully it by smashing it into the net, with Chelsea recording the biggest xG underperformance in the Premier League during his brief tenure.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

The co-pilot is alleged to have stabbed the plane’s captain and taken over the flight controls with the intention of crashing it into Ben-Gurion airport.

— Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
An assistant football coach at the University of Connecticut allegedly ordered nine drinks and two ½ bottles of wine before crashing into a tree in Tolland over the summer and leaving the scene, court papers said.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of crashing

Verb

The other student strikes one more blow from behind, knocking Xavier to the ground.

— Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
The murder prompted an extensive investigation, with police interviewing more than 1,300 people and knocking on hundreds of doors.

— Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of knocking

Verb

The Patriot munition at a critical low is the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, a high-velocity surface-to-air interceptor designed to destroy incoming tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles by ramming into them.

— James LaPorta, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
In Long Beach, Newsom acknowledged how unprecedented the move was, even for a governor known for ramming proposals through the Legislature.

— Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of ramming

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thudded

thudding

thuds

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

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Synonyms of thudding

verb

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