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

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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
  • This design continually reflects the laser inside the stream via total internal reflection, overcoming the need for focal-point or Rayleigh-length adjustments.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Augusto, Marrero, Hernández and countless others have little choice but to figure things out which, in Cuban parlance, means overcoming whatever obstacle is placed in their way.
    — Juan Carlos López, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Northern California received a boost with Folsom defeating Mission Viejo 35-21.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Botic van de Zandschulp, who knocked Carlos Alcaraz out of this event two years ago, is into the fourth round after defeating Zizou Bergs 3-6, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • Written and rendered by dudes who longed for unlimited success, these are songs about cheating and being cheated on and trying but failing to be content, or love as lived amid capitalist indulgence.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In this case, the reward was solving the ExploitGym questions and the hacking was literally hacking—cheating on the test and then hacking into Hugging Face in an effort to cover up the cheating (more on that below).
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • Goalkeeper Emi Martinez floated a ball over Ezri Konsa to Rogers, who exchanged passes with Joao Pedro before shifting sharply onto his right foot and whipping a shot just wide of David Raya’s far post.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Into the work, esparza’s has also added a scene from the Florentine Codex showing a Spaniard whipping an Indigenous person and images of ICE raids in LA and Chicago, connecting centuries of oppression together.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • Knowing how to apply lipstick is one of those essential beauty skills worth mastering, alongside nailing how to apply cream blush and perfecting your base.
    — Emma-Jade Stoddart, Glamour, 4 Sep. 2026
  • But for a novice, relying on AI before mastering the fundamentals creates a technical debt that leads to a lack of depth.
    — Jason Corso, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • Mas launched his own stinging move around the same place that Omrzel attacked.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The bugs, particularly ticks, ants, mosquitoes and stinging insects, are going to take full advantage thanks to warmer temperatures, according to the National Pest Management Associations (NPMA)'s biannual Bug Barometer®.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • In 2025, the United States joined Israel in bombing Iran, and in 2026 the United States and Israel launched a full-scale war with the initial objective of regime change in Tehran.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The status of its nuclear program, degraded by bombing strikes in 2025, hasn't changed.
    — Susan Page, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of bombing
Verb
  • Rashford enticed the Ukrainian, then drove past him on the outside, further beating Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the area, forcing James Tarkowski to slide in to concede a corner.
    — Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Both teams are coming off dominant albeit unremarkable opening games after beating FCS opponents at home.
    — PJ Green September 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 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.

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Cite this Entry

“Skunking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunking. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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