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
Steven Sullivan, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
Rabies can be found in many other wildlife species, including raccoons, skunks, coyotes and foxes.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 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
Sure enough, there was a cute little skunk staring back at me.
—Steven Sullivan, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
Rabies can be found in many other wildlife species, including raccoons, skunks, coyotes and foxes.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 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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Choose a crate that is a comfortable size for your dog.—
Madeline Gunderson,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
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The stretchy fabric allows for a full range of motion and remains in place through every downward dog and tree pose.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Neal, his co-pilot, a navigator and seven crew members headed toward Cannes, France, to bomb some roads.—
Brad Schmitt,
Nashville Tennessean,
11 Nov. 2025
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Serbia was bombed in 1999 for 78 days to force then-President Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Pelosi retires and Dems begin generational civil war Nancy Pelosi, 85, announced her retirement yesterday as a new generation of much younger Democrats bridles against the elderly cadre under former President Biden, 82, who led them to defeat in the last presidential election.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
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He and Democrat Rebecca Cooke may be headed for a rematch in 2026, after Van Orden defeated Cooke in 2024.—
Molly Beck,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But voters who showed up to the polls on Tuesday had a different point of view and delivered stinging defeats to Republicans.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
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In February, Vance delivered a stinging message to European allies, saying that the biggest threat to Europe did not come from Russia or China, but from within Europe itself, and that he was concerned Europe was moving toward censorship and away from democracy.—
Hannah Demissie,
ABC News,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Try the picanha or one of the signature bowls, which feature grilled and smoked meats and a hearty helping of fresh fixings.—
Skye Sherman,
Southern Living,
10 Nov. 2025
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However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says up to 20% of new diagnoses are now made in people who have never smoked.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Engineers in the United States are making serious efforts to ensure that humanoid robots master self-balancing and offer precision in conducting multiple types of tasks.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
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Jonathan Bailey has mastered the art of capturing hearts.—
Julie Jordan,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The only reason that Bikini Frankenstein does not rank higher on this list is because putting a softcore porno at the top would feel like cheating.—
Katie Rife,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
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But like his predecessor, this Frankenstein is just as obsessed with immortality and cheating death through science.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The sibling filmmaking duo spent most of the 2010s making a colossal two-part movie adaptation of King’s 1,138-page horror opus about a shapeshifting clown who terrorizes the small town of Derry, Maine.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
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The woman dressed as a spooky ringmaster while her husband played the part of a creepy clown.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunk. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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