trounce (v.)

  1. beat severely with a whip or rod; The teacher often flogged the students; The children were severely trounced

    [ Syn: flog , welt , whip , lather , lash , slash , strap ]

  2. come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship; We beat the competition; Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game

    [ Syn: beat , beat out , crush , shell , vanquish ]

  3. censure severely or angrily; The mother scolded the child for entering a strangers car; The deputy ragged the Prime Minister; The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup

    [ Syn: call on the carpet , take to task , rebuke , rag , reproof , lecture , reprimand , jaw , dress down , call down , scold , chide , berate , bawl out , remonstrate , chew out , chew up , have words , lambaste , lambast ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
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