English noun: licking | |||
| 1. | licking (event) an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest | ||
| Samples | It was a narrow defeat. The army's only defeat. They suffered a convincing licking. | ||
| Synonyms | defeat | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | conclusion, ending, failure, finish | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | debacle, drubbing, heartbreaker, lurch, rout, shutout, skunk, slaughter, thrashing, trouncing, walloping, waterloo, whipping, whitewash | ||
| Antonyms | triumph, victory | ||
| 2. | licking (act) the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows | ||
| Synonyms | beating, drubbing, lacing, thrashing, trouncing, whacking | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | corporal punishment | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | flagellation, flagellation, flogging, lashing, tanning, whipping | ||