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Showing results for dead duck.
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

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

Well, Kennedy took a called third strike and Carp was a dead duck.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 7, 2011

But though realignment as Westminster politicians have understood it is now a dead duck, a richer and deeper realignment is desperately needed.

From The Guardian • May 25, 2010

The dead duck on the mantelpiece let out a single protesting quack, but the portrait of Edward Ashton remained unchanged.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood