I almost stepped on a skunk last night.
Source: tatoeba (423339)
Skunk
/skʌŋk/
Synonyms for "skunk" (147 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (30)
Strong matches (44)
Related words (73)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: animal, animal, antelope, ape, armadillo.
- Sentence evidence is available for skunk, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "skunk".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "skunk"
Keep "skunk" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "skunk" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "skunk", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "skunk" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
20 entriesShowing 16 of 20 words.
More specific
9 entriesCollocations
11 entriesdefense spraymusky odornocturnal mammalskunk someoneskunk sprayskunk the competitionskunk the opponentskunk the oppositionskunk the teamspotted skunkstriped skunk
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
6 entriesTranslations
167 translations across 128 languages.
Abenaki
1 entries- segôgw noun (animal)
Albanian
1 entries- qelbës noun (animal)
Algonquin
1 entries- cigàg noun (animal)
Arabic
2 entries- ظَرِبَان noun (animal)
- ظِرْبان noun (animal)
Arapaho
2 entries- xoo noun (animal)
- xou noun (animal)
Arikara
1 entries- niWIt noun (animal)
Armenian
2 entries- ժանտաքիս noun (animal)
- սկունս noun (animal)
Atakapa
1 entries- šikitiš noun (animal)
Ayautla Mazatec
1 entries- tjiuxikja noun (animal)
Aymara
1 entries- añuthaya noun (animal)
Azerbaijani
3 entries- iyverən porsuq noun (animal)
- qoxarca noun (animal)
- skuns noun (animal)
Basque
1 entries- mofeta noun (animal)
Belarusian
1 entries- скунс noun (animal)
Breton
1 entries- skoñs noun (animal)
Buena Vista Yokuts
1 entries- tsox noun (animal)
Bulgarian
1 entries- скункс noun (animal)
Carrier
1 entries- hoonliz noun (animal)
Catalan
1 entries- mofeta noun (animal)
Cebuano
1 entries- milô noun (animal)
Cherokee
2 entries- ᏗᎳ noun (animal)
- ᏗᎵ noun (animal)
Cheyenne
1 entries- xāō'o noun (animal)
Chickasaw
1 entries- koni noun (animal)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 臭鼬 noun (animal)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 臭鼬 noun (animal)
Chitimacha
1 entries- kištˀeˀe noun (animal)
Choctaw
1 entries- konih noun (animal)
Comanche
1 entries- pohniʔatsi̱ noun (animal)
Cree
1 entries- ᓯᑳᐠ noun (animal)
Creek
1 entries- kono noun (animal)
Czech
1 entries- skunk noun (animal)
Danish
2 entries- skunk noun (animal)
- stinkdyr noun (animal)
Dogrib
1 entries- nǫtsı̨ noun (animal)
Dutch
1 entries- stinkdier noun (animal)
Erzya
1 entries- чинебача noun (animal)
Esperanto
1 entries- mefito noun (animal)
Estonian
2 entries- skunk noun (animal)
- vinukloom noun (animal)
Faroese
1 entries- stinkdýr noun (animal)
Finnish
2 entries- haisunäätä noun (animal)
- skunkki noun (animal)
Fox
1 entries- shekâkwa noun (animal)
French
3 entries- mouffette noun (animal)
- putois noun (animal)
- sconse noun (animal)
Galician
1 entries- mofeta noun (animal)
Georgian
2 entries- მყრალა noun (animal)
- სკუნსი noun (animal)
German
2 entries- Skunk noun (animal)
- Stinktier noun (animal)
Greek
2 entries- αγριοκούναβο noun (animal)
- μεφίτιδα noun (animal)
Gros Ventre
1 entries- θouu noun (animal)
Hawaiian
1 entries- ponī noun (animal)
Hebrew
1 entries- בּוֹאֵשׁ noun (animal)
Hindi
1 entries- स्कंक noun (animal)
Hungarian
1 entries- bűzösborz noun (animal)
Icelandic
1 entries- skunkur noun (animal)
Ido
1 entries- mofeto noun (animal)
Indonesian
1 entries- sigung noun (animal)
Ineseño
1 entries- taxama noun (animal)
Interlingua
2 entries- moffetta noun (animal)
- skunk noun (animal)
Irish
1 entries- scúnc noun (animal)
Isthmus Zapotec
1 entries- beʼteʼ noun (animal)
Italian
2 entries- moffetta noun (animal)
- puzzola noun (animal)
Japanese
1 entries- スカンク noun (animal)
Kashaya
1 entries- nupʰeˑ noun (animal)
Kazakh
1 entries- сасықиісті noun (animal)
Kickapoo
1 entries- sekaakwa noun (animal)
Korean
1 entries- 스컹크 noun (animal)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- сасык кашкулак noun (animal)
Lakota
1 entries- maká noun (animal)
Lao
4 entries- ພຽງພອນເໝັນ noun (animal)
- ມູເຟັດ noun (animal)
- ສະກັງ noun (animal)
- ແມວຂົ້ວໂລກ noun (animal)
Latvian
1 entries- skunkss noun (animal)
Lithuanian
1 entries- skunkas noun (animal)
Macedonian
1 entries- твор noun (animal)
Malay
1 entries- skunk noun (animal)
Manx
1 entries- breinnag noun (animal)
Maricopa
1 entries- milxwe noun (animal)
Menominee
1 entries- seka·k noun (animal)
Mi'kmaq
2 entries- apigjilu noun (animal)
- apugjilu noun (animal)
Miami
1 entries- šikaakwa noun (animal)
Mingrelian
1 entries- სკუნსი noun (animal)
Mohegan-Pequot
1 entries- skôks noun (animal)
Mongolian
1 entries- өмхий хүрэн noun (animal)
Nahuatl
2 entries- epatl noun (animal)
- yepatl noun (animal)
Nanticoke
1 entries- laa!waa!quepuss noun (animal)
Natchez
1 entries- šic noun (animal)
Navajo
1 entries- gólízhii noun (animal)
Nawathinehena
1 entries- saoθ noun (animal)
Neapolitan
1 entries- cajorda noun (animal)
Norwegian
2 entries- skunk noun (animal)
- stinkdyr noun (animal)
Obispeño
1 entries- tqema noun (animal)
Occitan
1 entries- mofeta noun (animal)
Ojibwe
1 entries- zhigaag noun (animal)
Old Tupi
2 entries- sarigûeîa noun (animal)
- sarigûé noun (animal)
Pashto
1 entries- ژګاګ noun (animal)
Pawnee
1 entries- riwit noun (animal)
Plains Apache
1 entries- dookats’į́łtshesá noun (animal)
Polish
1 entries- skunks noun (animal)
Portuguese
3 entries- cangambá noun (animal)
- doninha-fedorenta noun (animal)
- gambá noun (animal)
Quapaw
1 entries- mą́ka noun (animal)
Quechua
1 entries- añas noun (animal)
Romanian
1 entries- sconcs noun (animal)
Romansch
1 entries- scunc noun (animal)
Russian
2 entries- воню́чка noun (animal)
- скунс noun (animal)
Salinan
1 entries- šowá noun (animal)
San Jerónimo Tecóatl Mazatec
1 entries- xíkjá noun (animal)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- tvor noun (animal)
- твор noun (animal)
Seri
1 entries- sliitxcoj noun (animal)
Shona
1 entries- chidembo noun (animal)
Shuswap
1 entries- sts̓ípeq noun (animal)
Slovak
1 entries- skunk noun (animal)
Slovene
1 entries- dihur noun (animal)
Southern Ohlone
1 entries- yaawi noun (animal)
Southern Valley Yokuts
1 entries- cox noun (animal)
Spanish
4 entries- añás noun (animal)
- chingue noun (animal)
- mapuro noun (animal)
- mofeta noun (animal)
Swahili
1 entries- kinyegere noun (animal)
Swedish
2 entries- skunk noun (animal)
- stinkdjur noun (animal)
Taos
1 entries- kùylulúna noun (animal)
Tatar
1 entries- ала көзән noun (animal)
Thai
1 entries- สกังก์ noun (animal)
Tibetan
1 entries- ཏེ་ལོ noun (animal)
Turkish
1 entries- kokarca noun (animal)
Ukrainian
1 entries- скунс noun (animal)
Unami
1 entries- shkakw noun (animal)
Uyghur
1 entries- سېسىق كۈزەن noun (animal)
Uzbek
3 entries- kokarca noun (animal)
- sassiq koʻzani noun (animal)
- skuns noun (animal)
Ventureño
1 entries- taxama noun (animal)
Vietnamese
1 entries- chồn hôi noun (animal)
Welsh
1 entries- drewgi noun (animal)
Western Apache
1 entries- golízhi noun (animal)
Western Ojibwa
1 entries- sikāk noun (animal)
Wolof
1 entries- jab bi noun (animal)
Yiddish
1 entries- טכויר noun (animal)
Zazaki
2 entries- boyğanık noun (animal)
- boyınce noun (animal)
Sample sentences
17 total sentences available.
We call him "Skunk Man".
Source: tatoeba (477324)
Tom was as drunk as a skunk the last time I saw him.
Source: tatoeba (1042555)
The last time I saw Tom he was as drunk as a skunk.
Source: tatoeba (1096089)
Showing 4 of 17 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "skunk"?
Closest matches include animal, animal, antelope, ape, armadillo.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "skunk"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.