1
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
she plays a punk game of tennis, so you won't have any trouble beating her
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory
the acting in the movie ranged all the way from poor to punk
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sick
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
I've been feeling punk today
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in novice
a person who is just starting out in a field of activity
an impertinent punk who was trying to tell senior colleagues how to do their jobs
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the vigilante was hailed by some as a hero for standing up to the punks who had repeatedly threatened his family
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in garbage
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
claims made by cosmetic companies about their antiaging creams that turned out to be a lot of punk
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of punk
Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
The five smudge shades are named after punk music culture.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 10 Dec. 2024
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2025
The all-girl rock band out of Boulder fully captured my attention with their high-energy pop punk and incredible, incredible vocals.
—The Know, Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for punk
Adjective
Dammers’s recollection of this time will strike a chord with many people who were there:
For me, reggae made punk gigs bearable.
—Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
The five smudge shades are named after punk music culture.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 10 Dec. 2024
Noun
Rhode Island punk legends The Queers, who’ve been around since the early 1980s, discovered the link between the ‘60s surf pop of The Beach Boys and the 1970s punk rock of The Ramones.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2025
The all-girl rock band out of Boulder fully captured my attention with their high-energy pop punk and incredible, incredible vocals.
—The Know, Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for punk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punk
Adjective
-
Hertz’s 10-month delay in contacting you is unacceptable and likely violates their own policies for handling claims efficiently.—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
28 Aug. 2025
-
By the federal government’s own standards, USAID’s fire sale is unacceptable.—
Hana Kiros,
The Atlantic,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
As a Minneapolis resident and Minnesota native, these past few days have been horrible.—
Sam Woodward,
USA Today,
30 Aug. 2025
-
However, in the immediate aftermath of something horrible, when everyone feels helpless, prayer can be a good place to go at the start, said Collins.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
About 1 out of every 10 people who get sick with Legionnaires' disease may die because of complications from the illness.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
-
In Texas’s outbreak, which began in January in a largely unvaccinated population in Gaines County in West Texas, at least 762 people became sick, including the two children who died.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Data has shown that the crash rate for novice drivers is four times higher than for adult drivers.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
-
This was important for a novice paperer like myself.—
Ella Field,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
24 Aug. 2025
-
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Singer is perhaps the only philosopher who could expect to find a stalker rooting through his garbage for some sign of hypocrisy—chicken bones, unopened pleas from UNICEF, a Tiffany Blue Box.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
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In a startling revelation, the crew members aboard this intergalactic garbage scow turn out to be the descendants of American astronauts launched 200 years earlier during humanity's pre-warp, post-World War III days.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Some Republicans, like Newsom rival Rep. Kiley, argue that all mid-decade redistricting – whether in Texas, California or some other state – is wrong.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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The guardrails that kept you from chasing the wrong opportunities.—
Ken Polk,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Whether your team is in the middle of a winning run or mired in terrible form, five minutes looking at the standings can convince you that a hundred different futures are possible.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
14 Aug. 2025
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While the latter is known for its legendarily terrible English localization, both of these were highly innovative horizontal scrolling shmups for their time.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punk. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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