as in idiot
a stupid person
don't be such a clunk and just get on with it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clunk
Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2025
The swing, a thick piece of lumber, clunks against the bull’s tines.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 4 Oct. 2023
Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 12 June 2024
Clanking and clunking against a group as deep and polished as UConn was a recipe befitting a school lunchroom.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for clunk
Noun
The vehicle wandered across the road far more than any already ill-handling Defender should, its brakes were weak, and gear shifts were accompanied by a prominent clunk.
—Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2025
The swing, a thick piece of lumber, clunks against the bull’s tines.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 4 Oct. 2023
Verb
The guardian huffed and slammed the door shut, but a moment later, metal clunked, and the door was opened.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 12 June 2024
Clanking and clunking against a group as deep and polished as UConn was a recipe befitting a school lunchroom.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for clunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clunk
Verb
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Its ghostly guitar melodies float as its basslines thud along, growing both more menacing and dejected as Katz’s depression becomes impossible to outrun.—
Grace Robins-Somerville,
Pitchfork,
23 Jan. 2026
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The latest version kicks off with a moody set piece before a gun shot and thudding drums make way for a beat that sounds like a drowning beeper.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
13 Jan. 2026
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Overwhelmingly, though, the most common response was to seek confirmation of their suspicions that Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were morons.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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After being bumped to September for three straight years because of the NSCAR Street Race, the Taste of Chicago is reclaiming its longstanding dates in July, the city announced.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
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Now, it’s been bumped down to #2.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There is nothing in the past year that suggests that the portion of this global event that will take place in the U.S. will proceed with anything less than exhausting chaos, a spoonful of stupid, and a dash of tragedy.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Jan. 2026
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And then, the rest of her life, filled with big stupids and everything else, will begin.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
19 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody Friday after he was arrested and hit with federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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But of all the spaghetti that got thrown at the wall, this is the one that hits for reasons that are totally orthogonal to politics and sort of Washington.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Mora, no dummy, has already noticed.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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The trophies handed out during the Grammys presentation are dummies that are reused each year.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Three weeks after the beating, the FBI tracked Fakroune to an apartment in New York and knocked on the door.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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Production may dip slightly in winter, but South Florida’s short stretches of sweatshirt weather aren’t enough to knock populations back significantly.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The ordeal generated local headlines, as Berman had to navigate sheer rocks and treacherous terrain in the dark to save the mutt.—
Joe Berman,
Outside,
26 Dec. 2025
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Having co-created the eponymous pooch, writer Bob Baker retained some of the rights to the character, but crucially not to the design or his connections to a certain Time Lord — hence the extensive makeover and the lack of references to the metal mutt's adventures in space and time.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
13 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clunk. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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