skulks 1 of 2

plural of skulk
as in sneaks
someone who acts in a sly and secret manner were surprised to discover the skulk stealing from the garden was a raccoon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

skulks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of skulk
1
as in lurks
to move about in a sly or secret manner I thought I saw someone skulking about in the shadows

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
as in hides
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 skulks
Noun
Frank discovers Lee’s meddling and skulks into Arthur’s apartment and murders him. Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025 Despite a restraining order against her, Lisa skulks around the twins’ school at drop-off and stalks them in the grocery store. Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
With Irene threatening Billie, Joe skulks back to his cement cell, but hears Irene torturing Billie in the next room. Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulks
Noun
  • This combination of music and entertainment sneaks education in where kids least expect it.
    Parents, Parents, 10 July 2026
  • In this case, a creator pairs her sneaks with a graphic tee.
    Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 16 June 2026
Verb
  • But amid the crooning local singers and walks down memory lane, trouble lurks.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 July 2026
  • But now, China lurks just offstage, preparing to bring the steel era’s industrial logic back into the story, using scale, subsidies and price pressure to test how durable today’s AI fortunes really are.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 July 2026
Verb
  • But mostly, the monarch persists because life’s job is to live; because within those thimble-size bodies hides a dynamo of survival that puts our most incredible machines to shame.
    Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
  • The aggregate number hides exactly the variance that matters for risk assessment.
    Prashanth Harshangi, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Noun
  • On Martha’s Vineyard, a low-lying fence with chicken wire is installed seasonally at the entrance of a key breeding site for oystercatchers and other seabirds and shorebirds, which has kept skunks and raccoons that eat their eggs off the beach.
    Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • Very Rivian also means yeti graphics on its vehicles, and Easter eggs like a frog and skunk underneath the washer fluid cover up front.
    Greg Migliore, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • Within a short distance from Kansas City lies an abundance of ways to experience nature at Missouri state parks.
    Zuri Primos July 26, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
  • Somewhere between the half-court heaves and the flagrant fouling and flopping, there lies the best version of the WNBA.
    Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2026
Noun
  • Those shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale should take note of all of its back to school offerings, including adidas Kids Samba Sneakers, Hunter rain boots, UGG slip-ons, On tennis sneakers and much more.
    ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
  • The sneakers have earned glowing reviews from healthcare professionals and shoppers with painful foot ailments alike, lauding their comfort for standing- and walking-heavy days.
    Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026
Noun
  • There are leaders, lurkers, peacekeepers, instigators, and the person who only surfaces to drop an occasional thumbs-up.
    Sam Reed, Glamour, 18 May 2026
  • The Cubs and Padres are well clear of any lurkers for the top two spots, but the Mets have the last ticket in for now, with San Francisco, Arizona and Cincinnati all within 2 1/2 games of them.
    Chris Branch, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • At the end of the experience, a line snakes to the Nickelodeon slime station.
    Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2026
  • The shots are busy with equipment—boom mikes, bulb-flashes, wires and cables dripping like innards or snakes, the hungry Cyclopean eye of a mounted camera.
    Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 July 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Skulks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulks. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on skulks

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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