skunky
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a skunk.
a skunky odor.
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having a disagreeable or tainted character.
beer with a skunky taste.
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Informal. mean and nasty; contemptible.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of skunky
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Running along the trails that whipsaw through the oak forests of the Palo Alto hills , I was hit with a musky, skunky smell that made the hair on my neck stand up.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2024
It was a skunky, 19-16 victory over the lousy Detroit Lions, who self-destructed with four turnovers behind a second-string quarterback.
From Washington Post • Nov. 25, 2019
In Secaucus, where a faint skunky new odor now mixes with the acrid belchings of trucks on the Meadowlands Parkway, Harmony Dispensary is looking forward to progress, however it comes.
From New York Times • Jul. 16, 2018
There’s morning breath and then there’s a noxious, skunky smell that even mouthwash can’t kill—most of us don’t want either.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2018
The fresh, green leaves with their eponymous skunky scent are shiny and new and just starting to grow toward the luxuriant size that makes them handy sunshades.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
