1
as in to complain
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
the cranky patient was always croaking to the nurses about something
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to die
slang
to stop living
I wouldn't go around saying your great-grandmother "croaked"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to kill
slang
to deprive of life
"I croaked the old bugger," he bragged
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to assassinate
slang
to put to death deliberately
hooligans had croaked the street corner wino just for the hell of it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of croak
Tracy Scott Forson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
In the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, Pattinson lends the heron an unsavory croak.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
At last, being informed that her ex had croaked inspired Donna to tearfully sign her DNR.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for croak
Verb
Frogs’ croaks and ribbits often echo through the night when the nocturnal species of these amphibians are most active.
—Tracy Scott Forson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
In the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, Pattinson lends the heron an unsavory croak.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
This is a Joker whose seen things, who has lived a hundred lives, who hobbles around like a dang-ass freak and croaks out a weird lizard laugh between smacks of his weird lizard lips.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
At last, being informed that her ex had croaked inspired Donna to tearfully sign her DNR.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for croak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for croak
Verb
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His team-mates celebrated; the Boca players complained furiously, surrounding the referee and pointing at Marchesin.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
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Several commentors have defended Wong and her administration, but others have complained there’s a pattern of high-handedness at Bloomfield town hall.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
20 June 2025
Verb
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Missing, however, was the museum’s founder Joseph Randall Shapiro, who died just days earlier at the age of 91. 2011: Ferocious winds spawned tornadoes that hit Downers Grove and Mount Prospect, but warning sirens in the communities remained silent.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2025
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If your team is afraid to disagree, if failure is punished, if new ideas die in PowerPoint—your culture needs rewiring.—
Bill Fischer,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
Verb
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Gaza’s Health Ministry on Sunday said that another 88 people have been killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, raising the war’s toll among Palestinians to 56,500.—
Tia Goldenberg,
Chicago Tribune,
29 June 2025
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One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 June 2025
Verb
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This is the regime that took Americans hostage and helped support groups that killed hundreds of U.S. service members throughout the Middle East and that has plotted to assassinate Trump.—
The Editors,
National Review,
18 June 2025
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The Israel Defense Forces have assassinated senior leaders in Iran’s proxy organizations, including much of Hezbollah’s mid- and high-level leadership.—
Robert A. Pape,
Foreign Affairs,
17 June 2025
Noun
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The animals use complex clicks, squawks and whistles to call out to each other, fight and attract a mate.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
25 Apr. 2025
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The show is thrilling as a sensory experience, humming with sinister percussive beats and the occasional muffled animal squawk in the distance.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Pacers' star went down and immediately screamed in pain.—
Matt Levine,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
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White Zinnias These hardy flowers from Mexico have had my heart for years; their bold colors simply scream summer.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
21 June 2025
Verb
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Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a summer visitor, as was her late son John F. Kennedy Jr., who perished in a plane crash off the coast with his wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren in 1999.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
27 June 2025
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Hundreds of Israeli civilians were injured in Iranian attacks, many homes were destroyed, and a few dozen civilians were killed, including five who perished in an Iranian attack on Beersheba minutes before the cease-fire took effect.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
25 June 2025
Verb
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But the conflict has only escalated, with Russia’s launching some of its most extensive strikes in a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of casualties, and Ukraine’s carrying out the audacious Operation Spiderweb drone attack, which damaged or destroyed strategic aircraft inside Russia.—
Adam Rasmi,
Time,
20 June 2025
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To destroy the site, an attack would have to come in waves, with bombers releasing one after another down the same hole.—
Samuel Granados,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Croak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/croak. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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