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
  • Despite ongoing hurdles around interconnection queues and grid congestion, the scale of deployment shows developers are overcoming technical and regulatory barriers to support rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Lorne Balfe From overcoming dyslexia with early synths to navigating AI, remote recording, and spatial audio, the blockbuster composer reveals how technology shapes his scores.
    — Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • The Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon really lived up to their nickname, defeating Malawi 3-0 with all three goals coming in the first half.
    — Emily Olsen, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Moody was elected the state's attorney general twice, defeating her Democratic challenger in 2022 by more than 20 points.
    — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • The Model 3 and Model Y adopted less elaborate press-and-pivot handles, helping give the cars their clean, wind-cheating profiles.
    — Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The British-Argentine actor’s point has less to do with her conflicted con artist cheating death numerous times and besting her mobster in-laws, as well as the FBI.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • Harrison Ford is whipping back into blockbuster shape, as the 84-year-old is set to return as iconic adventurer Indiana Jones in a new Disney project.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Aug. 2026
  • He’s spent the last week whipping senators to support it and even enlisted former Alabama football coach Nick Saban to dial up undecided lawmakers, according to people familiar with the matter.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • But the practical race in 2026 is won by mastering both contests at once with absolute capability and radical efficiency, closed excellence and open diffusion, the biggest reliable compute and the smartest use of it.
    — Mark Minevich, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Hybrid tech has been around for decades, and some automakers have refined their hybrid nameplates over the years, mastering the balance between affordability and efficiency for consumers.
    — Charles Singh, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • Battered fish and salt-and-vinegar-seasoned chips have been a staple for hundreds of years, best paired with stinging seaside winds and spray.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Beneath Lamb’s unkempt appearance, crude manners, noxious flatulence, and stinging remarks lies one of the sharpest minds in MI5 and a man fiercely protective of his brood of misfits.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • For decades, advocates of bombing Iran argued that such an attack might be messy but would ultimately remove the Iranian threat.
    — MARC LYNCH, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The government has intensified firefighting efforts across Sumatra and Borneo islands, deploying more than 35 aircraft including water-bombing helicopters and patrol airplanes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of bombing
Verb
  • Earlier polling showed Donalds beating Jolly by 5 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of two polls that surveyed voters on a hypothetical matchup between the two front-runners.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2026
  • At the 2025 French Open, Loïs Boisson rode her wild card all the way to the semifinals, beating two top-10 players along the way.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 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 23 Aug. 2026.

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