trounce

When you trounce someone, you win decisively. If you win a chess match in three moves, you trounce your opponent.

When a professional tennis player is in the midst of a tournament, she hopes to trounce her rival, and an ambitious speller might dream of the day she competes nationally and trounces all the other competitors. A victorious army can also be said to trounce the enemy. The origin of trounce is uncertain, though one theory has the French troncer, or "cut a piece off from," as its root.

Definitions of trounce
  1. verb
    beat severely with a whip or rod
    synonyms: flog, lash, lather, slash, strap, welt, whip
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    types:
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    flagellate, scourge
    whip
    leather
    whip with a leather strap
    horsewhip
    whip with a whip intended for horses
    switch
    flog with or as if with a flexible rod
    cowhide
    flog with a cowhide
    cat
    beat with a cat-o'-nine-tails
    birch
    whip with a birch twig
    type of:
    beat, beat up, work over
    give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression
  2. verb
    come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
    synonyms: beat, beat out, crush, shell, vanquish
    beat, circumvent, outfox, outsmart, outwit, overreach
    beat through cleverness and wit
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    types:
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    outpoint, outscore
    score more points than one's opponents
    walk over
    beat easily
    eliminate
    remove from a contest or race
    mop up, pip, rack up, whip, worst
    defeat thoroughly
    whomp
    beat overwhelmingly
    get the best, have the best, overcome
    overcome, usually through no fault or weakness of the person that is overcome
    rout, spread-eagle, spreadeagle
    defeat disastrously
    get the jump
    be there first
    cheat, chicane, chouse, jockey, screw, shaft
    defeat someone through trickery or deceit
    exceed, outdo, outgo, outmatch, outperform, outstrip, surmount, surpass
    be or do something to a greater degree
    conquer, get over, master, overcome, subdue, surmount
    get on top of; deal with successfully
    best, outdo, outflank, scoop, trump
    get the better of
    outfight
    to fight better than; get the better of
    overmaster, overpower, overwhelm
    overcome by superior force
    checkmate, mate
    place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game
    immobilise, immobilize
    make defenseless
    outplay
    excel or defeat in a game
    annihilate, bat, clobber, cream, drub, lick, thrash
    beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
    beat, circumvent, outfox, outsmart, outwit, overreach
    beat through cleverness and wit
    outgrow
    grow faster than
    outcry, outshout
    shout louder than
    outroar
    roar louder than
    outsail
    sail faster or better than
    outdraw
    draw a gun faster, or best someone in a gunfight
    outsell
    sell more than others
    outsell
    be sold more often than other, similar products
    outpace
    surpass in speed
    better, break
    surpass in excellence
    outshine
    attract more attention and praise than others
    outrange
    have a greater range than (another gun)
    outweigh
    be heavier than
    outbrave
    be braver than
    out-herod
    surpass someone in cruelty or evil
    outfox
    outdo someone in trickery
    shame
    surpass or beat by a wide margin
    bulldog
    throw a steer by seizing the horns and twisting the neck, as in a rodeo
    outmaneuver, outmanoeuvre, outsmart
    defeat by more skillful maneuvering
    steamroll, steamroller
    overwhelm by using great force
    outmarch
    march longer distances and for a longer time than
    outwear
    last longer than others
    type of:
    defeat, get the better of, overcome
    win a victory over
  3. verb
    censure severely or angrily
    synonyms: bawl out, berate, call down, call on the carpet, chew out, chew up, chide, dress down, have words, jaw, lambast, lambaste, lecture, rag, rebuke, remonstrate, reprimand, reproof, scathe, scold, take to task, vituperate
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    types:
    castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, objurgate
    censure severely
    brush down, tell off
    reprimand
    flame
    criticize harshly, usually via an electronic medium
    type of:
    criticise, criticize, knock, pick apart
    find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws
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