Synonyms of flunk

flunk

verb

ˈfləŋk 

as in to fail

to be unsuccessful

the movie flunks, both as entertainment and as a dramatization of a historical incident

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fail
• collapse
• flop
• miss
• struggle
• fold
• strike out
• bomb
• fall short
• tank
• come up empty
• fall flat
• founder
• come to grief
• lay an egg
• flame out
• wash out
• come a cropper
• decline
• crash
• die on the vine
• crater
• fall on one's face
• slip
• flounder
• crumble
• miscarry
• slump
• skid
• wane
• sink
• misfire
• go under
• implode
• self-destruct

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• go
• succeed
• deliver
• work out
• go over
• click
• come off
• cook
• thrive
• flourish
• prosper
• win
• pan out
• prevail
• triumph

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of flunk

Or the employee cafeteria in the chains’ corporate overlord’s headquarters flunking an inspection? —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2026

John has just flunked the bar for the second time, and his job at the DA’s office — which has a three-strike policy — is in peril. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026

By the end of the eighth grade, Ben—now out as gay—was flunking every class. —Longreads, 3 Feb. 2026

The company was born from the will of a man who grew up dirt-poor in Baltimore, flunked fifth grade, served in Vietnam and became a billionaire. —Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026