mauling

Definitions

A severe physical attack involving biting, clawing, or tearing.

A rough or brutal handling of someone or something.

A crushing or decisive defeat in a contest or game.

Examples

The hiker narrowly escaped a mauling by the grizzly bear after playing dead.

The team suffered a brutal mauling at the hands of their rivals, losing the game by thirty points.

Synonyms

battering savaging thrashing assaulting beating lacerating

Antonyms

caressing nurturing protecting soothing cradling defending cherishing