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
  • 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
  • In the film, Russell wants a hulk of a man but doesn’t care about money, while Monroe transparently is looking for a man who can fuel her desire for diamonds.
    — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
Definition of hulk
Noun
  • In many of life’s winner-loser outcomes, the fate of the losers is all but inevitable, granted the values, resources and determination of the winners.
    — James Coffin, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Gaskell noted that a relatively small number of active losers account for a substantial amount of sportsbooks’ revenue.
    — ProPublica, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of loser
Noun
  • She was left with multiple bruises and a lump on the back of her head.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The cash will be paid in a single lump-sum within 30 days following the close — which was earlier today.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Oct. 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
  • The station is soon invaded by out-of-time baseball stars, fairytale villains, and unseasonal snow, all created by aliens eager to understand the concept of imagination.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Carrie’s focus is also shifted, with the 2013 version finding Chloe Grace Moretz’s Carrie more akin to an X-Men villain than the traumatized, feverish teen Sissy Spacek played in 1976.
    — Alex Zalben, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • 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
  • God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 July 2026
Definition of moron
Noun
  • Jean pays tribute to the oversized trousers worn by rodeo clowns.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The gasoline shortage has become such a feature of daily life that even clowns at Moscow’s circus have cracked jokes about it.
    — Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of clown
Noun
  • In North Carolina, rabies cases are most commonly found in raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats, Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Health Administration Rafael Vieira told UNC Charlotte.
    — Eva Flowe October 1, Charlotte Observer, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In California, bats and skunks are the animals that most often get rabies, according to the state health department.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of skunk

Browse Nearby Words

palominos
palooka
palookas
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“Palooka.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palooka. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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