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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of skunk
Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Around 75% of Americans are exposed to raccoons, skunks and foxes — the very wildlife that commonly spread the fatal disease to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Shiv Sudhakar, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2025
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
Rabies can be found in many other wildlife species, including raccoons, skunks, coyotes and foxes.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Around 75% of Americans are exposed to raccoons, skunks and foxes — the very wildlife that commonly spread the fatal disease to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Shiv Sudhakar, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2025
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
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Bring your dogs, your kids, your grandparents.—
Jordyn Noennig,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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His Pumas teammates and coach know how important the dog is to Ramsey.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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An art conservator who'd prefer to be immersed in detail work, Sarah is bombing as the host of a dinner party where her entrepreneur husband (Tom Riley) hopes to impress an obnoxious prospective investor (Tom Goodman-Hill) when a literal explosive goes off in her neighborhood.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
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In response, Ukrainian tech innovators are looking for alternatives that would enable the robots to drive faster to increase their chances of completing their missions before they get spotted and bombed by Russian kamikaze drones.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Glo clearly brought good luck to the game, seeing as the Raptors defeated the Hawks 138-118.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
24 Oct. 2025
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In these sparsely populated spaces, the mountain always defeats the human, instilling a deep respect for the environment.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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While basic first aid can often ease the pain of a bee sting, according to the Mayo Clinic, those who are stung more than a dozen times can experience a more severe reaction, which includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and lightheadedness.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Considering that one cocktail could cost one hour of some employees’ wages, the removal of that free drink benefit stung even more, Quimby and Reber told Deadline.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Never smoke in bed; keep lighters and cigarettes away from children.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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The period was marked by the dramatic fall from grace of his younger brother, then-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who admitted to smoking crack cocaine and then was dogged by evidence of a string of other abusive behavior.—
NPR,
NPR,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Even so, the idea that telling lies could win you an enormous sum of money faster than mastering facts fits in with the shifting realities of our times.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
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Many CEOs could have been overwhelmed by the daunting challenge of simultaneously mastering media misconceptions on multiple fronts.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The release came as the Ciattarelli campaign tried to raise questions about whether Sherrill was involved in a cheating scandal during her time in Annapolis in the early 1990s.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
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The documents included disciplinary information and reportedly showed that Sherrill was barred from walking at her 1994 graduation after refusing to inform on classmates involved in a cheating scandal.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This guy might be single-handedly responsible for generations of people having an irrational fear of clowns.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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Unlike past attempts at fictionalizing his life, Macmanus barely touches on the fact that Gacy had a hobby of dressing up like a clown, and doesn’t show any actual murders in the series.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunk. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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