as in dog
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
he's nothing but a dirty, rotten skunk
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skunk
Steven Sullivan, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
Rabies can be found in many other wildlife species, including raccoons, skunks, coyotes and foxes.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
Sam had a sudden flash of some decades old cartoon, an anthropomorphized rabbit or skunk with its jaw dropped, a foghorn like awooga accompanying the lolling of its cartoonishly long tongue.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Noun
Sure enough, there was a cute little skunk staring back at me.
—Verb
The party got skunked in every battleground state and lost the popular vote for the first time in 20 years.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for skunk
Noun
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Choose a crate that is a comfortable size for your dog.—
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The stretchy fabric allows for a full range of motion and remains in place through every downward dog and tree pose.—
Verb
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Fighter jets bombed strategic targets in Panama City and Colón, while ground forces dismantled the Panamanian Defense Forces.—
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If Venezuela and its region instead spiral into chaos and suffering, Trump will merely look like a bully, a president who cowers when facing the mighty — in Moscow or Beijing, say — but bombs those who can’t return fire, whether in Nigeria, Yemen or Venezuela.—
Verb
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The last meeting happened in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season, where the Eagles defeated the Niners 31-7 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.—
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The Mean Green's best football season ever wasn't even over before the major figures from that team left, or announced their intentions to bounce ASAP; when the season did end, moments after North Texas defeated San Diego State to win the New Mexico Bowl, is when the great Denton flood began.—
Verb
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But the Chiefs not being in the playoffs still stings.—
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But a lackluster performance during that fall's vice presidential debate did little to help the party avoid stinging losses in November 2024.—
Verb
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Now, the turkey bacon will be cherrywood-smoked and the white cheddar cheese will be sharper.—
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Add the olive oil and smoked sausage to a large pot and place over medium heat.—
Verb
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The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.—
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At the sound level, our engineer is a guy who makes all the greatest dance music in the Latin world right now [Josh Gudwin is the records’ mixing engineer and Dale Becker mastering engineer].—
Verb
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The only reason that Bikini Frankenstein does not rank higher on this list is because putting a softcore porno at the top would feel like cheating.—
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But like his predecessor, this Frankenstein is just as obsessed with immortality and cheating death through science.—
Noun
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Brewer depicts the world of music impersonators with a fair amount of affection, like the rodeo clowns of late 20th-century America.—
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Cirque du Soleil is known for its shows featuring acrobats, athletes and clowns – all doing spectacular feats.—
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skunk. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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