skulking

verb

Definition of skulkingnext
present participle of skulk
1
as in lurking
to move about in a sly or secret manner I thought I saw someone skulking about in the shadows

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in hiding
to remain out of sight the animal control officers caught the stray cat that had been skulking behind some trash cans

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulking
  1. lurking
  2. hiding
  3. lying
Verb
  • Teddy saves the day and a life, but the more interesting twist to Nora’s surgery is the young woman lurking in the shadows.
    Lincee Ray, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Where a few of the more voracious readers are surely lurking on secret Goodreads accounts, others may well treat the latest buzzy novel a bit like a trendy accessory.
    Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of lurking
Verb
  • Further evidence is the fact that Amazon is bragging about, not hiding, season 2 viewership.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
  • The footage captured a figure in a ski mask hiding in the shadows as an unsuspecting woman arrives at the bank and goes about withdrawing money from the ATM.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • As season seven of Love Is Blind played out on screen, Tyler Francis has been accused of lying about his children on the reality dating series—and the details just keep getting worse.
    Glamour, Glamour, 21 Oct. 2024
  • What’s lying beneath the surfaces is even more brutal – poachers in the woods, men waiting to sell women on the black market.
    Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024
Definition of lying
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near skulking

skulkers

skulking

skulks

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Skulking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulking. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on skulking

Nglish: Translation of skulking for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
sweet smart pug puppy dog sitting in front of blackboard with chalk question marks
Commonly Confused Words Quiz Vol. 3 Do you have a (flare/flair) for choosing the righ...