1
as in hides
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
Grandpa told us that when he was a kid, if he misbehaved at all, his father would tan his backside with a belt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in licks
to strike repeatedly
a time when children were routinely tanned for misbehavior
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tans
Verb
-
Incarceration often hides in plain sight.—
PhotoVogue,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025 -
The scene from Badlands hangs over the songwriting like a dark cloud; Spacek’s bedroom in the scene looks quite a bit like the bedroom in which the young Springsteen hides from his own angry father.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Posted to the account @maisythemarshmallow on September 19, the video shows the dog, named Maisy, lying calmly as the cat snuggles up and licks her face.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
-
When asked the question, the owl takes the lollipop and licks it three times before chomping down on its hard shell exterior and handing the stick back to the child.—
Moná Thomas,
People.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the video, Campos whips her long hair in disbelief.—
Christina Noriega,
Refinery29,
13 Oct. 2025
-
So unless Benito uncharacteristically whips out a slate of cover songs, his set will be entirely in Spanish.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Public safety officials have already conducted several water rescues as the storm lashes the East Coast with coastal flooding, strong winds, and heavy rain.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
-
While Harris Reed had more exaggerated bottom lashes and more clustered to the outer wing, lashes at Dreaming Eli were more centered and top-heavy, leaving the bottom lashes natural.—
Essence,
Essence,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Mogollon Monster The Mogollon Monster is Arizona's Bigfoot, a legendary creature said to inhabit the Mogollon Rim, a rugged and densely forested area that slashes across the state.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
17 Oct. 2025
-
This sale slashes $450 off the retail price of the HP OmniBook X Flip, a premium 2-in-1 featuring a 16-inch touch display.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Like a true professional, the actor quickly flicks the photo and extinguishes the blaze without ever breaking character — despite internally freaking out — to nail the perfect shot.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The scene flicks to a flashback of Henry at war, which then switches to Henry in his previous timeline suffering from a nightmare.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Petro attacks Trump while protecting narcos and engaging in the drug business.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
-
With Pervis Estupinan or Davide Bartesaghi holding width on the left and No 9 Santiago Gimenez dragging defenders away, Pulisic attacks the gap between centre-back and full-back, arriving in stride rather than starting wide.—
Sukhman Singh,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Tans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tans. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share