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
  • The release came as Ariana dropped her eighth studio album Petal, which explores themes of overcoming negativity and personal growth, on Friday, July 31.
    — Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Instead of overcoming their fatal flaw and defeating their shadow-self, the titular Eternals are reckoning with their relationship to God and the grand arc of human history.
    — EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Instead of overcoming their fatal flaw and defeating their shadow-self, the titular Eternals are reckoning with their relationship to God and the grand arc of human history.
    — EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Oba Femi, who rose to prominence after defeating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 and winning the 2026 King of the Ring, recently concluded his intense rivalry with Lesnar.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • But after he was accused of cheating, the school suspended him for a year and gave him an F in the course Sourcing and Managing Funds.
    — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
  • These two, like the cheating wife stiffing her babysitter, got too caught up in the pursuit of romance, allegedly.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • Iguanas usually go viral for other reasons Iguanas are usually quick-moving and run away from their would-be captors with their long tails whipping behind them.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 24 July 2026
  • The attorney questioned whether a person would be able to smell alcohol at the same time that wind generated by 18-wheelers and other vehicles whipping by on the highway was blowing, as was occurring during the officer’s time with Hampton.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • Long days were spent cleaning, drawing and waiting for customers during slow periods, all while mastering a craft that permanently alters another person’s body.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The course is built to walk parents step-by-step through mastering budget-busting expenses like diapers, wipes, formula, and groceries while building a supportive community of like-minded moms.
    — Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 31 July 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • The downside is that the active ingredients can trigger stinging, breakouts or reactions in people with sensitive skin.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026
  • The 21-year-old grows more confident when starting on the left wing, stinging the outside of Rosenborg’s goalpost wth a solid effort in the 28th minute.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 25 July 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • In 2003, Libya formally took responsibility for bombing Pan Am 103.
    — Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026
  • The meeting came after nearly two weeks of the United States bombing Iran, with Tehran striking back against allies in the region, including a hit on a military base in Jordan that killed three American service members.
    — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
Definition of bombing
Verb
  • The family is also adamant that they were told by the hospital that by the time Lopez-Cornejo arrived there on Saturday, his heart was no longer beating.
    — Armando Garcia, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The Giants then pulled off one more buzzer-beating trade by flipping reliever Erik Miller for infielder and former first-rounder Marcelo Mayer, their fifth and final trade of the day.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 4 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.

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 5 Aug. 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

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

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
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All