trounce
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: The origin of the verb is unknown; it is perhaps related to Old French troncer, troncher, troncir, tronchir (“to cut; to cut a piece from; to retrench”), from Old French tronce, tronche (“stump; piece of wood”). However, the English and Old French words differ in meaning.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Inflected forms:
form: trounces
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: trouncing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: trounced
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: trounced
pos: verb
tags: past
form: trounces
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To beat severely; to thrash.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I tell you, I meane to trounce him after twenty in the hundred, and have a bout with him with two ſtaves and a pike for this geare.
There is a Law among them that whoſoever beats one of thoſe Clerks ſo, that his Cap fall to the ground, he is liable to a very ſevere penalty (if I well remember to looſe his hand) which nevertheleſs happens frequently in the Cabac: but to prevent the worſt when a Layman is minded to beat one of thoſe Muſhrooms, he firſt takes off his Cap and then trounces him off ſo long as he will, which done he ſets the Cap upon the right Block again.
O yez; take notice! that the first bad boy I find killing an innocent bird, or trouncing a poor frog, I will have no mercy on him.
Tom was so stunned that he had not even presence of mind enough to say "Who cares, Miss Smarty?" until the right time to say it had gone by. So he said nothing. But he was in a fine rage, nevertheless. He moped into the schoolyard wishing she were a boy, and imagining how he would trounce her if she were.
gloss: To beat or overcome thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The Mexican team trounced the Americans by 10 goals to 1.
Mar[ina]. Crowd the Fidler is not there: / And my mind delighted is / With no ſtroke ſo much as his. / Mop[so]. If not he, / There will bee / Drone the Piper that will trounce it. / Mar. But if Crowd / Struck alowd, / Lord me thinks how I could bounce it.
What skill and dexterity soldiers, who are called together only once a week, may possess, in trouncing an enemy, which has already trounced half Europe, I will not pretend to determine; [...]
If by such reasoning all systems of political authority are rejected, [Mikhail] Bakunin, the greatest anarchist of the nineteenth century, must appear in the light of an ingenious berserker hastening in advance of his generation to wage war against Idea and Intellect, and to clear away all metaphysical and ideological obstacles, trouncing in a Scythian frenzy religion and politics, theology and law.
In fact, they tried to defeat her [Margaret Chase Smith] by offering to support her in a run for the governorship. Smith declined the offer and surprised everyone by trouncing three popular opponents in the Republican primary. She then went on to an easy victory in the general election.
In the divisional playoff, the [Denver] Broncos avenged their loss to the Miami Dolphins, trouncing them 38–3.
I dislike bragging, but Edward and I trounced the opposition in the debate on state's rights last week. We received a hearty round of applause and have now challenged the debating team from Carleton to a match.
Others believe big tech companies such as Google will quickly trounce the young upstarts, and that some of the new companies have little competitive advantage.
gloss: To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold with abusive language.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Say I, write I, or dooe I, what I can, he will haunt and trounce me perpetually, with ſpiritiſh workes of ſupererogation, inceſſant tormentours of the civilian and devine.
Though the senators are eminently courteous to each other, they have no more hesitation in speaking out their minds, upon occasion, than have the members of the House [of Representatives]. John P[arker] Hale, with [William Henry] Seward on his side, unmercifully trounces President [Franklin] Pierce and the slaveholders; and General [Lewis] Cass, helped out by Mr. [John Middleton] Clayton, most valiantly abuses England and Lord Palmerston.
gloss: To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue.
pos: verb
tags: UK
regional
transitive
examples: Slept hard till 8 o'clock, then waked by Mr. Clerke's being come to consult me about Field's business, which we did by calling him up to my bedside, and he says we shall trounce him.
Whereupon Mr. Weaver did threaten them, and (to uſe his own Expreſſion) would cauſe them to be trounced, taking down their Names. And the Grand Jury broke up without acting.
And I have yet to graſp you left a Claw, / I'll trounce you, Sir, I'll hamper you with Law; / Witneſs I have of all that has been Spoken, / I'll bring an Action, for your Contract broken; / For Damages ſuſtain'd, I'll make you rue, / In Doctor's-Commons play the Devil too.
[A]s an ensign, stationed at Minorca, he [Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine] was enthusiastic in his sympathy for General [John] Mostyn, when that Governor was trounced in an action for false imprisonment and other illegal treatment brought against him in the Common Pleas by Fabrigas.
gloss: An act of trouncing: a severe beating, a thrashing; a thorough defeat.
pos: noun
examples: He sprang on his prey with a pounce, / And he gave it a jerk and a trounce; / Then crunched up its bones / On the grass or the stones, / This carnivoristicous Ounce, / 'Ticous Ounce! / This carnivoristicous Ounce!
She could hear the maid beating the pillows—a trounce for each—and tossing them into a pile where they fell with a plump.
In the nick of time he lassoed with a trounce / the low-down villains who had stubbed our toes.
[...] [Harris] Wofford's campaign, headed by James Carville and concentrating on a need for national health insurance, was a trounce and stunning upset.
Derived words: trouncer
trouncing
untrounced
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: смазвам от бой
roman: smazvam ot boj
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 痛擊 /痛击
roman: tòngjī
lang: Czech
word: nařezat
lang: Czech
word: namlátit
lang: Dutch
word: afranselen
lang: Esperanto
word: bategi
lang: French
word: rosser
lang: French
word: battre
lang: German
word: verhauen
lang: German
word: verprügeln
lang: German
word: verkloppen
lang: German
word: verklopfen
lang: Hungarian
word: összever
lang: Ido
word: bategar
lang: Irish
word: liúr
lang: Irish
word: gread
lang: Irish
word: rúisc
lang: Italian
word: battere
lang: Italian
word: picchiare
lang: Italian
word: bastonare
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: banke
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: banke opp
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: klå
lang: Polish
word: bić
lang: Polish
word: pobić
lang: Polish
word: prać
lang: Polish
word: sprać
lang: Swedish
word: klå upp
lang: Turkish
word: dayak atmak
lang: Turkish
word: dövmek
lang: Ukrainian
word: бити
roman: byty
lang: Ukrainian
word: лупцювати
roman: lupcjuvaty
lang: Ukrainian
word: шмагати
roman: šmahaty