1
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
she plays a punk game of tennis, so you won't have any trouble beating her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terrible
extremely unsatisfactory
the acting in the movie ranged all the way from poor to punk
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sick
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
I've been feeling punk today
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in novice
a person who is just starting out in a field of activity
an impertinent punk who was trying to tell senior colleagues how to do their jobs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the vigilante was hailed by some as a hero for standing up to the punks who had repeatedly threatened his family
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in garbage
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
claims made by cosmetic companies about their antiaging creams that turned out to be a lot of punk
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of punk
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 19 Feb. 2026
Heeding these cryptic words some three decades later, the audacious (and well-read) impresario Tony Wilson opened the Haçienda together with the circle of post-punk musicians and designers involved with his label, Factory Records.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026
Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 6 Apr. 2026
Participants drank soda and ate cookies while listening to Dropkick Murphys, a Boston punk band that Platner likes.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punk
Adjective
On their debut album together, post-punk trio the Messthetics and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis arrived at the same point by following two different paths.
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 19 Feb. 2026
Heeding these cryptic words some three decades later, the audacious (and well-read) impresario Tony Wilson opened the Haçienda together with the circle of post-punk musicians and designers involved with his label, Factory Records.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
The Philadelphia punks sound like they were swept off to the Middle Ages in a mosh pit and immediately started a revolution.
—Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 6 Apr. 2026
Participants drank soda and ate cookies while listening to Dropkick Murphys, a Boston punk band that Platner likes.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punk
Adjective
-
Killing dogs in the street became increasingly unacceptable, and rabies vaccines became available.—
Rachel Sugar,
Curbed,
8 Apr. 2026
-
To Hafley, that’s unacceptable.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At that point, something terrible, something on the scale of the Maidan protests in Ukraine in 2014, is not inconceivable.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Between some horrendous screw-ups, terrible decision-making, and some plain old bad luck, their situation, and that of their mother, Linda Morelli (Laurie Metcalf), who is running for mayor, only gets worse.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The vlogger Jordan Cheyenne, for one, wrecked her sharenting career by accidentally posting footage of herself coaching her son, who was distraught over the family’s sick puppy, to make a specific kind of sad face for YouTube.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
-
People without health insurance tend to seek less preventative treatment, become sick more frequently, and die younger than do people with insurance.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In contrast, a study led by Active Site, a research nonprofit that studies the use of AI in synthetic biology, found that AI help did not lead to significant differences in the ability of novices to complete the complex workflow to produce a virus in a biosafety laboratory.—
Stephen D. Turner,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Our list is filled with PGA Tour stalwarts, LIV Golf superstars and enough up-and-comers to make the novice fan think twice before automatically presuming this title will end up with one of the usual suspects.—
Jason Sobel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The thugs would insinuate themselves into the confidence of wayfarers and, when a favorable opportunity presented itself, strangle them by throwing a handkerchief or noose around their necks.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
No government masked thugs shooting down our neighbors in the streets.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Down where the Pigeons toiled, two-foot piles of garbage cluttered blocks lined with storage-unit facilities, budget hotels, abandoned RVs and parking lots sealed with rusted razor wire.—
TIM CRAIG THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Her body was found wrapped in blankets and garbage bags in the bed of a second-story room.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Now 43-38, Charlotte has lost ground this week with difficult losses to Boston and Detroit that followed the same blueprint, as the Hornets fell off a cliff in the fourth quarter at the wrong time.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Overfertilizing Fertilizing too much or at the wrong time could potentially damage plant roots, leading to leaf damage and eventual drop.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Zack James’ shifty drumming hammers out a drum ’n’ bass redux like a panicked heartbeat while Carney Hemler’s bass lurches in slow motion, replicating the gut drop of a horrible realization.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Fendelman captured that horrible silence in the doc, punctuated by Littlejohn’s niece screaming, feral and raw.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punk. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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