as in dog
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
he's nothing but a dirty, rotten skunk
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to bomb
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
2
as in to defeat
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 to sting
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of skunk
Finch Walker, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
Maron explained that storms can dislodge baby birds from their nests, sweep young animals out of tree hollows and even flood ground nests used by cottontails and skunks.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2026
Larry Light, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
The party got skunked in every battleground state and lost the popular vote for the first time in 20 years.
—Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Noun
Cicadas are a good food source for animals like birds, foxes, skunks and raccoons.
—Finch Walker, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
Maron explained that storms can dislodge baby birds from their nests, sweep young animals out of tree hollows and even flood ground nests used by cottontails and skunks.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
Long-term, however, the S&P 500 has skunked the world index, and shows very sign of continuing to do so.
—Larry Light, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
The party got skunked in every battleground state and lost the popular vote for the first time in 20 years.
—Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skunk
Noun
-
Police also said a man walking his dog was shot in the back Sunday morning.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
-
Any attempt by a participant, or any other person, to participate using more than one dog/pet, using any method, may result in disqualification by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.—
Tim McGovern,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Most of these guys bomb because they can’t get used to the losing.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 May 2026
-
Well this immigrant grandma never murdered 180 schoolgirls in Iran by bombing them to pieces.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
The left fielder had a big night against one of his former teams with a home run and four RBIs on Thursday as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Royals 6-2 in front of 14,913 at Rate Field.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
-
The missile will reportedly have a host of capabilities intended to defeat ballistic missile defenses, but Russia has not built a good track record with the vehicle.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Despite Philadelphia winning 45 games this season, despite the Sixers improving dramatically on last season, and despite Philly winning a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, the loss to New York will still sting, as Philadelphia heads into the summer.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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Now owned by the National Gallery in London, the painting, showing Roman god Cupid complaining to his mother Venus about being stung by bees, can be seen in the center of a blurry, black-and-white photograph dating to the 1940s that was published in a 1978 furniture catalog.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
11 May 2026
Verb
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To illustrate, a comprehensive review by Public Health England, the British counterpart to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that vaping is 95% less dangerous than smoking.—
Joshua P. Cohen,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
Staffers in the front office smoked, gabbed on the phone, and chatted with the illustrators and couriers stopping by the third-floor walk-up to drop off portfolios.—
Anne Kadet,
Curbed,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
For those who haven't yet mastered these basics but want to get in better shape, Langowski shared some advice on how to get started.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
17 May 2026
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If all goes according to plan, this is the version of Starship that SpaceX will use to begin experimenting with in-orbit refueling, a capability engineers must master before sending ships anywhere farther than low-Earth orbit.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Verb
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But a subtler disruption is occurring underneath the cheating concerns and efficiency metrics.—
Shannon McKeen,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
Saints tried to cheat to get the win, but referee Charles Robinson caught him and stopped his count.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
In the end, Bill Skarsgård returned as the horrifying clown Pennywise, which was always the plan from the start.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
11 May 2026
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Even a rival gave kudos — kind of — to the clown.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunk. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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