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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
  • Andersson faces the task of overcoming differences in the opposition bloc.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Also, underwater solar deployment requires overcoming extreme conditions such as corrosive salt, high pressure, and water ingress.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • The Cougars have a bye week after defeating former TCU quarterback Hauss Hejny and Colorado State 41-23 on Saturday.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The campaign also places particular emphasis on technologies capable of defeating drones while minimizing collateral damage.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • After a 7-6 debut season as the Volunteers head coach in 2009, Kiffin endeared himself to the Tennessee fan base by accusing former Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating during a recruiting battle.
    — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Blatant, in-your-face lying, cheating and stealing is the norm.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 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
  • Stand mixers are the best choice for things like kneading bread dough, whipping egg whites and mixing cookies, but blenders are best for breaking down more substantial foods to create beautifully smooth purees.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • In Seattle, district physical education manager Lori Dunn sees learning to ride a bike as more than simply mastering a recreational skill.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Extending lifespan dramatically would require mastering many of them simultaneously.
    — Venki Ramakrishnan, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • Some baby hummingbirds disguise themselves as caterpillars with stinging hairs to avoid predators, while octopus, squid, and cuttlefish use camouflage to blend in with their surroundings and hide.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026
  • How to prevent wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets Proactive maintenance can keep stinging insects from setting up home on your property.
    — Nick Perry, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • Ukraine has been systematically bombing some of those refineries, severely curtailing the global supply of diesel fuel.
    — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The person in the White House has asked Ukraine to stop bombing Russian refineries and oil/gas/diesel facilities.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of bombing
Verb
  • Nigeria is on track to complete a 90,000 km fiber optic cable network in three years, a government minister said, beating an initial timeline for the project backed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • OpenAI earlier this month released GPT-6 Astra, which has sometimes been modestly beating Opus 5 in benchmarks and user sentiment.
    — Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 22 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.

Browse Nearby Words

skunked
skunking
skunks
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Cite this Entry

“Skunking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunking. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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