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Definitions

dead duck

ADJECTIVE
desperate
Synonyms
STRONGEST
despondent forlorn futile sad vain
STRONG
downcast goner
WEAK
at end of one's rope back to the wall can't win despairing desponding gone hard up in the soup in the toilet inconsolable irrecoverable irremediable irretrievable no chance no-win running out of time sunk up against it up the creek useless wretched
Antonyms
STRONGEST
cheerful happy hopeful joyful
WEAK
calm confident content contented satisfactory satisfied secure unworried
ADJECTIVE
doomed
Synonyms
STRONGEST
ill-fated wrecked
STRONG
bedeviled bewitched convicted cursed damned destroyed done fated foreordained lost overthrown overwhelmed predestined ruined sentenced sunk suppressed undone unfortunate
WEAK
cut down done for ill-omened in the cards kiss of death luckless menaced que sera sera star-crossed threatened thrown down unredeemed
Antonyms
STRONG
blessed intact nice protected restored saved successful
WEAK
hopeful lucky
NOUN
sitting duck
Synonyms
STRONGEST
pushover
WEAK
babe in the woods dead meat easy pickings easy victim lamb sinecure soft touch toast vulnerable

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.

Before it all started to get trippy, Scotland were losing 3-0 and Denmark were winning 1-0, a series of results that made Scottish hopes of automatic qualification a dead duck.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

“He’d be more like a dead duck, rather than a lame duck,” said Park Sung-min, president of Seoul-based MIN Consulting, a political consulting firm.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2024

Buffett is correct in acknowledging that the traditional newspaper business model is a dead duck in the long run, as readers transition to digital news websites.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2019

Unless you invest, whether it's the better ones from the Championship or guys with experience of the Premier League, then you are on to a dead duck.

From The Guardian • Oct. 22, 2010

I noticed a long time ago when it comes to disappointment, once a growned person feels it for you, you ain’t nothing but a dead duck, ’cause caint nothing be done to change their mind.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.