as in dog
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
he's nothing but a dirty, rotten skunk
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to bomb
to defeat by a large margin
we ended up skunking them, as our goalie was able to prevent the other team from scoring a single goal
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to defeat
to achieve a victory over
our football team consistently skunks our traditional rivals Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to sting
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
unwilling to let suppliers skunk him, the restaurant owner inspected every shipment before signing off on it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skunk
Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026
Some mammal species are highly susceptible to HPAI, including domestic cats, skunks, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, mountain lions and black bears.
—Faith Bugenhagen, Austin American Statesman, 27 Feb. 2026
Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
Sam had a sudden flash of some decades old cartoon, an anthropomorphized rabbit or skunk with its jaw dropped, a foghorn like awooga accompanying the lolling of its cartoonishly long tongue.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Noun
Owens has spotted coyotes, crayfish, snakes, bats, foxes, skunks and a wide array of butterflies and moths on her daily walks through the forest.
—Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026
Some mammal species are highly susceptible to HPAI, including domestic cats, skunks, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, mountain lions and black bears.
—Faith Bugenhagen, Austin American Statesman, 27 Feb. 2026
Verb
The party got skunked in every battleground state and lost the popular vote for the first time in 20 years.
—Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
Sam had a sudden flash of some decades old cartoon, an anthropomorphized rabbit or skunk with its jaw dropped, a foghorn like awooga accompanying the lolling of its cartoonishly long tongue.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skunk
Noun
-
One was about Snow Dog, his dog that accompanied him to class.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
31 Mar. 2026
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An obituary for Spoon, an electrical lineman in Westfield, New York, noted his devotion to his wife, his dog, and exercise.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of the sites bombed that day was an Iranian school, leading to at least 175 deaths, most of them children.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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The United States bombed the Isfahan facility along with two other nuclear sites on June 22.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In his March Madness brackets, Obama has the Arizona Wildcats men defeating the Duke Blue Devils (who have already been upset) and UConn's women's team winning it all.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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The Wolverines defeated the Mustangs in state semis last year and in 2021 and 2025 and won state title games against Grapevine in 2018 and 2022.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Alcohol can be stinging and drying to the skin.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
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Anyone who is stung repeatedly or has trouble breathing should call 911.—
Rey Covarrubias Jr,
AZCentral.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The church said there was a lot of water damage to the downstairs portion of the building and smoke damage to the upstairs.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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One video pinned to his profile depicts him on a wild boar hunt, smoking a cigar.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The young girl is reading at a 12th-grade level and mastering math concepts such as fractions, decimals and even exponents.—
Jasmine Viel,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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The duality applies to the whole team, which has seemingly mastered compartmentalizing its fun side and its serious side, tapping into one personality or the other on command.—
Haley Sawyer,
Daily News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported on the cheating epidemic that has overtaken schools and universities as students outsource their assignments to a chat bot.—
Peter Smagorinsky,
AJC.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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An angler competing in a walleye derby on Saskatchewan’s Montreal Lake was kicked out of the ice-fishing tournament Saturday after being accused of cheating.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Three years have passed since the stadium-sized clown show of the duo’s last record, 10,000 gecs, and Brady’s been feverishly cooking up unlikely collaborations and solo material.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
27 Mar. 2026
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Christopher Kosakowski, United States, 2025 A circus clown celebrating his birthday alone receives a mysterious gift box harboring an antique zoetrope that spins his world into mayhem.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunk. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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