flunk
verb
Simple meaning
To fail a class.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fluhngkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflʌŋk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
ambitransitive
Of a student, to fail a class; to not pass.
Fail to get a passing grade
transitive
Of a teacher, to deny a student a passing grade.
by extension
To fail any challenge
To back out through fear. (Commonly in the phrase 'flunk it', the 'it' referring to a specific task avoided; sometimes without specific reference, describing a person's attitude to life in general.)
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (ambitransitive) Of a student, to fail a class; to not pass.
Used this way, flunk is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It turns up most in education or classroom contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Critical but measured
Where it naturally appears
- Education/classroom
Nearby words
- bomb , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: of a student or to fail a class
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.