as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person
I wish he wouldn't bring over here that bunch of palookas he calls his friends
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Recent Examples of palooka
Don’t be a palooka, start Nacua.
—
Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 12 Dec. 2024
One year after the Academy bafflingly ignored his work in Sideways, Giamatti finally scored his first Oscar nomination for his purely entertaining performance as boxing manager Joe Gould in Ron Howard’s proudly old-fashioned Depression-era palooka drama.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
All this real guts and glory in Philadelphia, yet one of the big tourist attractions is to run up the Art Museum steps the way a palooka named Rocky Balboa did on the silver screen.
—Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 1 Jan. 2018
Without it, director Phillipe Falardeau's film would be a fairly unremarkable, fairly familiar ride, telling the tale of a big-hearted but undisciplined palooka whose biggest hurdle in life is his own bad judgment.
—Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 17 May 2017
The jokes, by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka.
—Michael O'Sullivan, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2017
The jokes (by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser) have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka.
—Michael O'Sullivan, The Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2017
Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 12 Dec. 2024
One year after the Academy bafflingly ignored his work in Sideways, Giamatti finally scored his first Oscar nomination for his purely entertaining performance as boxing manager Joe Gould in Ron Howard’s proudly old-fashioned Depression-era palooka drama.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024
Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
All this real guts and glory in Philadelphia, yet one of the big tourist attractions is to run up the Art Museum steps the way a palooka named Rocky Balboa did on the silver screen.
—Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 1 Jan. 2018
Without it, director Phillipe Falardeau's film would be a fairly unremarkable, fairly familiar ride, telling the tale of a big-hearted but undisciplined palooka whose biggest hurdle in life is his own bad judgment.
—Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 17 May 2017
The jokes, by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka.
—Michael O'Sullivan, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2017
The jokes (by screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser) have all the wit of a punch-drunk palooka.
—Michael O'Sullivan, The Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for palooka
Noun
-
Remember the scene in Marvel's The Avengers, when Bruce Banner transformed into the hulk and punched a Chitauri Leviathan in the face, bringing it to a sudden halt?—
Chris McMullen,
Space.com,
28 Nov. 2025
-
Jerome Grand Hotel For 44 years, the empty hulk of the United Verde Hospital loomed above the town like Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
14 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Eleanor’s view Trump has never liked a loser.—
Eleanor Mueller,
semafor.com,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Soto hit a two-run home run in the first inning off loser Eduardo Rodriguez, his second of this year’s tournament and the fourth of his WBC career — tying Nelson Cruz and Adrián Beltré for the most in his nation’s history.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Most lumps such as these are noncancerous lipomas, or fatty tumors, and a decision on whether to remove them is based on whether the lumps interfere with movements or threaten other issues.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
That was an average of more than $20,000 to the 21,000 employees who received a lump-sum check.—
Melody Gutierrez,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
With this selection, readers can have an experience similar to readers in Japan in encountering this fresh new voice, inflected with Kanako’s distinctively Osakan warmth and wit (the adorable Shiba Inu mutt at the center of the story certainly may be part of the appeal too).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The 22nd annual Puppy Bowl featured puppies on Team Ruff and Team Fluff competing in a mutt-size football stadium for the Wayfair Lombarky Trophy.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
With ‘live’ scenes from the ship’s top deck, Marvel villains had invaded the cruise and the screens showed our heroes in action, saving the day.—
Helen Wright,
TheWeek,
11 Mar. 2026
-
On one level, the Nazis here are stereotypical adventure story villains, yet specific actual Nazi atrocities are discussed and the suffering of French citizens is deeply felt.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Christopher Kosakowski, United States, 2025 A circus clown celebrating his birthday alone receives a mysterious gift box harboring an antique zoetrope that spins his world into mayhem.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The same clown who is owned by Vladimir Putin.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Some owls will hunt the wildlife that raids our garbage cans, like skunks and opossums.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Raccoons, skunks, crows, and moles feed on lawn grubs.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Palooka.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palooka. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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