skunking

verb

present participle of skunk
1
as in overcoming
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

Relevance
2
as in defeating
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 cheating
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for skunking
  1. overcoming
  2. defeating
  3. cheating
  4. whipping
  5. mastering
  6. stinging
  7. bombing
  8. beating
Verb
  • Norway reached the quarterfinal with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Sunday and England advanced with a thrilling 3-2 victory over host Mexico after overcoming a weather delay, red card, altitude and a raucous crowd at 80,000-seat Estadio Azteca.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
  • Lionel Messi and Argentina avoided one of the biggest ever World Cup knockout shocks by overcoming Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time of a jaw-dropping game.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Mbappe leads a strong French attack France reached the semi-finals after defeating Morocco 2-0, recording another clean sheet and reinforcing their status as the tournament favourites.
    — Abdul Rehman, New York Times, 14 July 2026
  • In November, Bill Clinton was elected, defeating Bush by almost six million votes, and the temperature around the arts dropped.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • Rather than being the abusive, manipulative and ultimately homicidal husband that prosecutors alleged, Sabatini described Millete as a tragic figure who was being emotionally and psychologically abused and gaslit by his cheating wife.
    — Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • After getting caught cheating during a crew battle by using members from other gaming crews, I was blacklisted by the 3DS community for a couple of months.
    — Kenneth Okeke, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 July 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • Onstage, Shakira unleashed her inner rock star during the song, working the stage and the mic stand in a purple corset and matching fringe pants and whipping her lengthy curls like a weapon.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Olise kept his intentions hidden to the last, shaping up to cross the ball to the back post before sharply turning his hips and whipping his pass into the goalscorer’s path, breaking two defensive lines along the way.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • Few lawmakers matched Latvala in mastering the legislative arts.
    — Michael Van Sickler, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026
  • In truth, by mastering deal structure, sophisticated investors achieve asymmetric returns, where upsides significantly outweigh downsides.
    — Justin Donald, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • In the Mark Dolan Show interview and in a stinging essay for the Daily Mail, Griffiths accused the king’s son of making false allegations against her.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
  • Significant stinging insect infestations like wasps and carpenter bees may also require a specialized plan that isn’t included in your general pest control service.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • French officials condemned the damage to the ancient monastery, comparing it to bombing Notre-Dame, while Ukrainian religious leaders called it a crime against humanity.
    — Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Another bad fix bombing out the moment it was most needed.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 June 2026
Definition of bombing
Verb
  • Switzerland topped Group B ahead of co-host Canada after beating Les Rouges 2-1 in its final group game, which came after an emphatic 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 1-1 draw against Qatar in its opener.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • The host won the opening match by an innings and 217 runs and needs only a draw to claim its first series win in the World Test Championship since beating Bangladesh in the Caribbean in 2022.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
Definition of beating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

skunked
skunking
skunks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Skunking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunking. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All