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Definitions

flunk

[fluhngk] / flʌŋk /
VERB
fail
Synonyms
STRONGEST
STRONG


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.

See Examples For:

The difference between dropping the SAT and dropping the civil service examination is that incompetent students flunk out in a year or so.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

It’s saying, “Oh, yay, I get to flunk another math test this week,” when what you mean is that you are freaked out about your consistently terrible grades in math class.

From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2024

This other teacher is going to flunk me.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 13, 2022

At MIT, meteorology majors who flunk Forecasting 101 are encouraged to switch to economics.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2022

“I’ll do rotten in school. I’ll do so rotten, they’ll have to flunk me back to third grade.”

From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli

If a plaintiff flunks this test, there’s no actual “controversy,” so the federal judiciary has no authority to hear the case.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2022

She hands María a notebook, which the girl spends so much time writing in that she flunks second grade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2021

Jack plays her love interest, beating Rock Hudson, who flunks his screen test by mixing up his lines.

From The Guardian ● May 21, 2020

As a policy argument, Friedman’s thesis flunks key empirical tests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2016

Casual and fun-loving, John almost flunks out of his new school until he considers the trust he's been given and the shame he would face if he returned without graduating.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Turns out I hadn’t flunked technology after all.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Masse’s professors would have flunked him if he used artificial intelligence for designs and images, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

He has been anonymous in his games so far and, if this was his big moment to announce himself, he flunked the test.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

In the years following graduation, Jenner and Pratt would team up to produce “The Princes Of Malibu,” but only after Pratt, who was attending USC, almost flunked a course in business trigonometry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026

I said I'd flunked out of Pencey, though.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

The freshman and sophomore years were tough, with some core courses flunking or dropping almost half the students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

On each corner of 23rd Avenue and Jefferson Street, including by the Ezell’s Famous Chicken, protesters carried signs reading “Shots Fired, We’re Tired,” or “report cards” grading Seattle Public Schools as flunking on safety.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

Riley is also flunking an offense where defending Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams seems disconnected and the playcalling seems just plain weird.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2023

He also described flunking his first chemistry exam as a first-year undergraduate student.

From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2023

"You mean about my flunking out of Pencey and all?"

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger



Vocabulary lists containing flunk


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