skulk
English · Thesaurus
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skulk
- /skʌlk/
- /skʊlk/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌlk
Where it comes from
From Middle English sculke, skulke, sculken, of North Germanic origin; compare Danish skulke (“shirk”), Swedish skolka (“play truant”).
noun skulks
- A group of foxes. A skulk of foxes, a cowardice of curs are tonight’s traffic whispering in the yards and lanes.
- A group of people seen as being fox-like (e.g. cunning, dishonest, or having nefarious plans). […] a skulk of priests flapped out of the Church of San Geronimo, and women kneeling at novena put away their beads […]
- The act of moving in a stealthy or furtive way. A part of their company, who had been sent out on a skulk, had not returned, and great anxiety was felt lest they had fallen into an ambush and been captured.
- A stealthy or furtive gait or way of moving. His gait was something between a slouch and a skulk.
- The act of avoiding an obligation or responsibility. [They took] good care […] to swing their hammocks as far abaft as possible, for the twofold purpose of having a skulk in their watch below at night, and to keep clear of the sprays, which usually pour down the gratings […]
- One who avoids an obligation or responsibility. .
verb skulks · skulking · skulked
-
To stay where one cannot be seen, conceal oneself (often in a cowardly way or with the intent of doing harm).
Is whispering nothing?
Is leaning cheek to cheek? is meeting noses?
Kissing with inside lip? stopping the career
Of laughing with a sigh?—a note infallible
Of breaking honesty—horsing foot on foot?
Skulking in corners? wishing clocks more swift?
Similar: hide
- To move in a stealthy or furtive way; to come or go while trying to avoid detection. The residue like vnto the bare arssed rebels sculked to and fro; but in the end, they and the others were all dispersed, & durst not to appeare.
-
To avoid an obligation or responsibility.
Let discipline employ her wholesome arts,
Let magistrates alert perform their parts,
Not skulk or put on a prudential mask,
As if their duty were a desp’rate task;
Similar: shirk
Translations
Every language
verb to conceal oneself; to hide
| Español | merodear |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 躲藏 duǒcáng |
| Português | esgueirar |
| Français | se cacher |
| Deutsch | sich verstecken |
| Italiano | imboscarsi, nascondersi |
| Русский | пря́таться prjátatʹsja, затаи́ться zataítʹsja |
verb to move in a stealthy way
| Русский | кра́сться krástʹsja |
|---|
Talk about this word "skulk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/skulk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. skulk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/skulk "skulk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/skulk.Cite this
@misc{skulk_2026,
title = {skulk},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/skulk},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
