palooka

noun

pə-ˈlü-kə How to pronounce palooka (audio)
Definition of palookanext
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person I wish he wouldn't bring over here that bunch of palookas he calls his friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of palooka Don’t be a palooka, start Nacua. — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 12 Dec. 2024 One year after the Academy bafflingly ignored his work in Sideways, Giamatti finally scored his first Oscar nomination for his purely entertaining performance as boxing manager Joe Gould in Ron Howard’s proudly old-fashioned Depression-era palooka drama. — A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2024 Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed. — Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for palooka
  1. hulk
  2. loser
  3. lump
  4. mutt
  5. villain
  6. clown
  7. skunk
Noun
  • Like the ghostly hulk of the Titanic below the surface of the sea, Northbrook Court is a quiet and cavernous relic — at the bottom of the retail food chain.
    — David Petitti, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The machine that housed her father was in the basement, a black, solid hulk with blinking lights that drew a lot of power.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2025
Definition of hulk
Noun
  • The loser of the 7-8 game then hosts the winner of the 9-10 game with that winner earning the eighth seed.
    — Dan Loumena, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The loser of that game will play the Sacramento-Dallas winner on Friday to advance to play Oklahoma City in the playoffs.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2025
Definition of loser
Noun
  • The appearance of lumps, wart-like growths, or open sores that don't heal within a few weeks is also a significant sign.
    — Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
  • However, during a physical provided by the WTA, the governing body of women’s tennis, the following year, another doctor encouraged Dabrowski to get the lump scanned.
    — George Ramsay, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2025
Definition of lump
Noun
  • The British Ministry of Defence's answer is using the mechanical mutts to make detecting and defusing bombs safer and more efficient.
    — David Szondy, New Atlas, 5 Feb. 2025
  • In Vermont, a fast-acting witness spotted a struggling 7-year-old mutt in trouble and waded into an icy river up to his waist to reunite the dog with its grateful owner.
    — Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 20 Jan. 2025
Definition of mutt
Noun
  • Whereas Serena could easily have emerged as a one-note villain, from the beginning of her tenure on the series, Strahovski has imbued Serena with a soulfulness that often puts the audience uncomfortably on her side, despite her reprehensible actions.
    — Scarlett Harris, IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Even when a big threat does arrive on the scene, the heroes aren't there right away, so plenty of innocent people get hurt before a villain gets brought to justice.
    — John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Definition of villain
Noun
  • Caro Stowell of Thomasville was dressed up like a clown.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 5 Apr. 2025
  • The final moments of the trailer revealed a terrifying figure hiding deep in the woods, one that looked overwhelmingly like a female clown.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 2 Apr. 2025
Definition of clown
Noun
  • Weasels, skunks, possum, snakes (to eat eggs), and all sorts of other common creatures will become regular visitors to your yard, mostly at night.
    — Sal Gilbertie, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
  • It has been detected in 40 wild mammal species in 36 states, killing bears, harbor seals, foxes, squirrels and skunks, among other creatures.
    — Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
Definition of skunk

Browse Nearby Words

palominos
palooka
palookas
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Cite this Entry

“Palooka.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palooka. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

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