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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flunk
Will the current Supreme Court conclude that Trump’s tariffs also flunk it? N.C.L.A.
—
Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025
Charlotte Hornets The Mark Williams trade was a spectacular piece of opportunism that sadly went by the wayside when the Lakers flunked his physical, but give the Hornets points for nearly pulling that off.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
For the first time in his life, Kevin was flunking classes — bizarre for a math nerd and high school salutatorian.
—Ellen Barry, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Ruth used that run-in to inform Franks of why Gibbs flunked his psych eval, and to call him on the carpet for dodging the boy’s calls/visits.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunk
Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025
Charlotte Hornets The Mark Williams trade was a spectacular piece of opportunism that sadly went by the wayside when the Lakers flunked his physical, but give the Hornets points for nearly pulling that off.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
For the first time in his life, Kevin was flunking classes — bizarre for a math nerd and high school salutatorian.
—Ellen Barry, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Ruth used that run-in to inform Franks of why Gibbs flunked his psych eval, and to call him on the carpet for dodging the boy’s calls/visits.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunk
Verb
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Likely to have less impact on your buying decision (but still reside in the back of your mind) is that if one of the triple-panel fans fails, the entire triple-fan unit needs replacing, not just one fan.—
Thomas Soderstrom,
PC Magazine,
13 Sep. 2025
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The new glue has impressive properties, including its ability to withstand significant forces before failing.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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By this time, the Soviet Union had collapsed, leading Manuylov to start a business in the candy trade.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Luckily, the airport had a failsafe in the form of a ground material designed to collapse under the plane's weight and stop it in its tracks.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Between 1958 and 1978, 30 of the low-budget comedies were churned out (a revival in 1992 flopped), attracting millions of viewers worldwide.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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The strategy created momentum, but Llama 4 flopped when it was released in early April 2025—at which point, Pineau had already submitted her resignation.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Of course, sadly missing from the grand reunion that was The Grand Finale was the late Maggie Smith, who played Robert’s mother, Violet.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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An older inmate with a history of hypertension and cognitive decline went unmonitored for months, missing standard screenings that could have caught deteriorating health.—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunk. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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