skulked

past tense of skulk
1
as in lurked
to move about in a sly or secret manner I thought I saw someone skulking about in the shadows

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in hid
to remain out of sight the animal control officers caught the stray cat that had been skulking behind some trash cans

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 skulked Money speaks, the land listens, where the Anarchist skulked, where the horsethief plied his trade, we fishers of Americans will cast our nets of perfect ten-acre mesh, leveled and varmint-proofed, ready to build on. Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025 The models skulked through The Box like zombies from a past life. Nadja Sayej, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulked
Verb
  • The terrain was steep and mountainous, the forests were thick, and threats from buffalo and leopards lurked in the wilderness.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Was Blass’s mental block a sign of what lurked on the other side of these quotidian failures?
    Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • On the other hand, 14 different teams — including one who barely snuck into the preseason top-25 — received at least one Final Four nod.
    The Athletic College Basketball Staff, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Then the third-year tailback snuck to the right and made the wide open grab in the flat.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Things took a comic turn as the Unitree G1 slipped while walking over food bits.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025
  • They can be slipped on hoop earrings and two different types of chains.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 3 Nov. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Skulked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulked. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on skulked

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!