palooka

noun

pə-ˈlü-kə How to pronounce palooka (audio)
Definition of palookanext
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person I wish he wouldn't bring over here that bunch of palookas he calls his friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of palooka Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed. — Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019 All this real guts and glory in Philadelphia, yet one of the big tourist attractions is to run up the Art Museum steps the way a palooka named Rocky Balboa did on the silver screen. — Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 1 Jan. 2018 Without it, director Phillipe Falardeau's film would be a fairly unremarkable, fairly familiar ride, telling the tale of a big-hearted but undisciplined palooka whose biggest hurdle in life is his own bad judgment. — Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 17 May 2017 The jokes, by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka. — Michael O'Sullivan, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for palooka
  1. hulk
  2. loser
  3. lump
  4. mutt
  5. villain
  6. moron
  7. clown
  8. skunk
Noun
  • Instead, fog clung to every nook and crevice of the glacial hulks surrounding us.
    — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German battleships — and even the remains of an ancient woolly mammoth — are emerging into view.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of hulk
Noun
  • Memory and chip firms SanDisk, Western Digital, AMD, Seagate and Micron were the index’s biggest losers, all plunging around 10%.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Counting among the biggest losers on Election Day was Elon Musk, who is currently facing a lawsuit over allegations that the gas turbines at his Colossus data center in Memphis, Tennessee, are emitting pollution.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of loser
Noun
  • The longer the sweet potatoes heat in the Dutch oven, the more the lumps will soften.
    — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Her aunt, a breast cancer survivor, was the first person who encouraged her to get that initial lump checked.
    — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of lump
Noun
  • But when the mutt chases a fox into the wilderness and doesn't return, Fielding and his father launch a massive search to recover him, growing closer together as a result.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Antonio Nowden, a neighbor who lives at the Kelly Road house, said April 1 that the dog in question, a mutt with brown fur and a white spot on its chest, is not his.
    — Rafael Escalera Montoto, Arkansas Online, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of mutt
Noun
  • Horowitz then brought up Skarsgard’s longtime interest in playing a villain in the James Bond franchise.
    — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Much psychological research has focussed on the degradation of villains, but a symmetrical force works to elevate victims.
    — Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • The fact that there is someone out there who could actually get all the real unsuspecting morons who participated in this movie to sign off on it afterwards is simply astonishing considering what they are asked to do in it.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The unlikely source is Enervate’s company stooge corporate strategist, Ken Davies (Tim Key), a moron by any measure.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of moron
Noun
  • Two clowns in serious legal trouble colluded to put the entire planet in an economic crisis.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The procession will also welcome 52 floats, 31 clown crews, nine specialty units (such as trycaloons, or balloons ridden on tricycles), seven marching bands, and five balloonicles (that’s a balloon-vehicle hybrid).
    — Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of clown
Noun
  • But there is also no mistaking the distinct black-and-white fur and bushy tails of skunks.
    — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Officials say the last animal confirmed to have rabies that wasn’t a bat was a skunk infected with the bat strain of rabies in Long Beach in 2014.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of skunk

Browse Nearby Words

palominos
palooka
palookas
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Cite this Entry

“Palooka.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palooka. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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