Skulk — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner

avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/skˈʌlk/

🇬🇧British English

/skˈʌlk/

🇮🇳Indian English

/skˈʌlk/

1 syllable Say it as /skˈʌlk/.

Examples

The lonely man skulks down the main street all day

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

lurk malinger

Parts of Speech

verb	lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
verb	avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill
verb	move stealthily “The lonely man skulks down the main street all day”

Word Forms

lurker	noun	someone waiting in concealment
skulker	noun	someone waiting in concealment
malingerer	noun	someone shirking their duty by feigning illness or incapacity
malingering	noun	evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated
skulking	noun	evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schleichen

auf der Lauer liegen, im Hinterhalt liegen, sich hinterlistig und geheimnisvoll verhalten

🇫🇷French

se cacher

guetter, tendre une embuscade, se comporter de manière sournoise et secrète

🇪🇸Spanish

esconderse

acechar, tender emboscadas, comportarse de manera furtiva y reservada

🇮🇹Italian

furtivo

restare in agguato, tendere un'imboscata, comportarsi in modo subdolo e riservato

🇳🇱Dutch

sluipen

op de loer liggen, in een hinderlaag liggen, zich op een stiekeme en geheimzinnige manier gedragen

🇵🇹Portuguese

esquivar-se

ficar à espreita, fazer uma emboscada, comportar-se de maneira sorrateira e secreta

🇷🇺Russian

прятаться

подстерегать, лежать в засаде, вести себя хитро и скрытно

India

🇮🇳Hindi

छिपना

प्रतीक्षा में झूठ बोलना, घात में झूठ बोलना, गुप्त और गुप्त तरीके से व्यवहार करना

🇮🇳Tamil

மண்டை ஓடு

காத்திருப்பு, பதுங்கியிருந்து பொய், மறைவாகவும் இரகசியமாகவும் நடந்துகொள்

🇮🇳Telugu

పుర్రె

వేచి ఉండు, ఆకస్మిక దాడిలో పడుకో, రహస్యంగా మరియు రహస్యంగా ప్రవర్తించండి

🇮🇳Marathi

कवटी

वाट पाहणे, आडवे पडणे, चोरटे आणि गुप्तपणे वागणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ખોપરી ઉપરની ચામડી

રાહમાં સૂવું, ઓચિંતો છાપો મારવો, ડરપોક અને ગુપ્ત રીતે વર્તવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಲೆಬುರುಡೆ

ಕಾದು ಮಲಗಿ, ಹೊಂಚುದಾಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗಿ, ಗುಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತು ರಹಸ್ಯವಾಗಿ ವರ್ತಿಸಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

തലയോട്ടി

പതിയിരിക്കുക, പതിയിരുന്ന് കിടക്കുക, രഹസ്യമായും രഹസ്യമായും പെരുമാറുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਖੋਪੜੀ

ਇੰਤਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਲੇਟਣਾ, ਘਾਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਲੇਟਣਾ, ਇੱਕ ਛੁਪੇ ਅਤੇ ਗੁਪਤ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ ਕਰਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

کھوپڑی

انتظار میں رہنا، گھات لگا کر جھوٹ بولنا، ڈرپوک اور خفیہ انداز میں برتاؤ کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

躲藏

埋伏, 埋伏, 偷偷摸摸地行事

🇯🇵Japanese

スカルク

待ち伏せする、待ち伏せする、卑劣かつ秘密裏に行動する

🇰🇷Korean

농땡이 부리다

기다리다, 매복하다, 은밀하고 은밀하게 행동하다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

kẻ trốn tránh

nằm phục kích, phục kích, hành xử lén lút, bí mật

🇹🇭Thai

หลบ

นอนรอ ซุ่มโจมตี ประพฤติตนอย่างลับๆ ล่อๆ

🇮🇩Indonesian

bersembunyi

menunggu, berbaring dalam penyergapan, berperilaku licik dan penuh rahasia

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

جمجمة

تكمن في الانتظار، تكمن في كمين، تتصرف بطريقة متستر وسرية

🇮🇷Persian

جمجمه

در کمین نشستن، در کمین دراز کشیدن، به شیوه ای یواشکی و پنهانی رفتار کن

🇹🇷Turkish

sinsi

pusuya yatmak, pusuya yatmak, sinsi ve gizli davranmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

גולגולת

לשכב, לשכב במארב, להתנהג בצורה ערמומית וחשאית

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'skulk'?

The primary meaning of 'skulk' is 'lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'skulk' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'skulk' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'skulk' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'skulk' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'skulk' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'skulk' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'skulk' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'skulk' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'skulk' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'skulk' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted