as in to fail
to be unsuccessful
the movie flunks, both as entertainment and as a dramatization of a historical incident
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Recent Examples of flunk
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
Ultragenyx lost more than $1 billion in market value after its bone drug flunked late-stage clinical trials.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
For its misleading omissions, the Times story deserves a flunking grade.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Conservatives, with few exceptions, united behind her, arguing the controversy was an example of a left-wing instructor flunking a student over their Christian beliefs.
—Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flunk
Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026
Ultragenyx lost more than $1 billion in market value after its bone drug flunked late-stage clinical trials.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
For its misleading omissions, the Times story deserves a flunking grade.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Conservatives, with few exceptions, united behind her, arguing the controversy was an example of a left-wing instructor flunking a student over their Christian beliefs.
—Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunk
Verb
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In early 2022, after the state failed to pass a ban on such care for minors, Paxton wrote a legal opinion declaring transition care for minors to be child abuse.—
Jo Yurcaba,
NBC news,
16 May 2026
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The city filed a lawsuit saying the federal government failed to perform required reviews of how the project would affect the health and safety of residents and the environment.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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The weekend, for all its promise, tends to collapse into logistics, half-finished to-do lists and the quiet companionship of two people watching the same screen.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
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Intellectual humility — the willingness to update your beliefs when the machine pushes back, rather than digging in or collapsing entirely.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
Verb
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That flopped, as have all subsequent attempts to protect nature permanently and on a large scale through the use of markets.—
John Reid,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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Rick Pitino, Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens, Fred Hoiberg, John Calipari, Tim Floyd, Lon Kruger, Mike Montgomery, Leonard Hamilton all left college to try the NBA, and most flopped.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
20 May 2026
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Two missing California children were recovered in Mexico nearly two years after their father allegedly fled with them following their mother’s killing, authorities said.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunk. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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