1
as in bombed
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 defeated
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 stung
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
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Recent Examples of skunked
That means two out of three Minnesota turkey hunters are going skunked this spring.
—
Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026
Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skunked
Verb
-
Most of the miniseries outside of a few have bombed.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the nation’s most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941.—
Jim Mustian,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
McGregor first fought at welterweight in 2016 in a shocking loss to Diaz, then defeated Diaz later that year, again in the 170-pound division.—
Mark Puleo,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
True North Classical Academy defeated SLAM (Tampa) in five sets in the 1A state final.—
Alex Kushel,
Sun Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
President Jimmy Carter, stung by that generation’s problems with the Gulf producers, hailed us as the Saudi Arabia of coal and pressured utilities to build coal plants, hence the 50% of the grid that was coal.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
17 May 2026
-
Paul took it on the chin, while admitting that the bad reviews stung.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
But the most important election result for Jeffries that year may have come months earlier, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a twenty-eight-year-old bartender with no previous electoral experience, upset Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s Fourteenth Congressional District.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
This is a precarious tightrope to walk, with bond investors primed to sell if there’s a hint the biggest player in the market upsets the apple cart.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
How to Sort Laundry Effectively There are only three steps required to sort laundry effectively and they can be mastered by almost everyone.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
-
Over 10 years, Cheng mastered techniques not only for new construction but also for small-scale traditional buildings in a folk style.—
Erin Tan,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
But no matter the prodding, Terminus never wanted the patrons to feel cheated, so the games, while tricky, were winnable, and the prizes reasonable and fair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
Every town has its nostalgic spots—ice cream shops, deli counters, old-school diners—that seem to have cheated time.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
None of us know yet that the Sparks are about to get trounced by the Aces, losing by 27 points.—
Jade Chang,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
Melissa is nationally ranked and trounced Aledo 15-4 in the 2025 state semifinals.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Woad overcame a double bogey on the par-4 sixth.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 May 2026
-
That alone is an achievement, but for Porter, a single mother of 11 who overcame hearing loss along the way, the accomplishment meant even more.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skunked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunked. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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