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
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
Cicadas are a good food source for animals like birds, foxes, skunks and raccoons.
—Finch Walker, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
Larry Light, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Noun
In the United States, dogs can get rabies if they are exposed to infected bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
Cicadas are a good food source for animals like birds, foxes, skunks and raccoons.
—Finch Walker, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
Long-term, however, the S&P 500 has skunked the world index, and shows very sign of continuing to do so.
—Larry Light, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skunk
Noun
-
Police also said a man walking his dog was shot in the back Sunday morning.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
-
Any attempt by a participant, or any other person, to participate using more than one dog/pet, using any method, may result in disqualification by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.—
Tim McGovern,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The people who bombed the interviews were the ones who developed a hypothesis and held it to the last breath because developing strategy is inherently fuzzy at first.—
Lynn Comp,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Meanwhile Israel continues to bomb Lebanon, with local authorities reporting numerous civilian deaths.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
Verb
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The team ultimately came back to defeat the Goldeyes 12-5 later in the day on Thursday.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2026
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There were heavy losses on both sides of the conflict (RIP Frenchie, in particular), and Homelander was ultimately defeated and killed by a vengeful Butcher.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2026
Verb
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Café receipts keep climbing, and the math is starting to sting.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
20 May 2026
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The Sacramento Bee gathered information on what kinds of jellyfish you can be found on the coast, whether their sting is harmful to humans and what to do if you get stung.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
20 May 2026
Verb
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To craft the burger, the team coarsely grinds — twice — the leftover pieces of meat and fat trimmed from either a brisket or shoulder clod, then forms 8-ounce-thick patties, which are rolled in a housemade all-purpose rub and 16-mesh pepper and smoked for two hours.—
Sam Flemming,
AJC.com,
20 May 2026
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The study published in JAMA Network Open followed 104 people who smoked daily and wanted to quit.—
Victoria Forster,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Verb
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For those who haven't yet mastered these basics but want to get in better shape, Langowski shared some advice on how to get started.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
17 May 2026
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If all goes according to plan, this is the version of Starship that SpaceX will use to begin experimenting with in-orbit refueling, a capability engineers must master before sending ships anywhere farther than low-Earth orbit.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Verb
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But a subtler disruption is occurring underneath the cheating concerns and efficiency metrics.—
Shannon McKeen,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Saints tried to cheat to get the win, but referee Charles Robinson caught him and stopped his count.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
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In the end, Bill Skarsgård returned as the horrifying clown Pennywise, which was always the plan from the start.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
11 May 2026
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Even a rival gave kudos — kind of — to the clown.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunk. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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