flunk

To flunk is to fail or not perform as expected. This is a term used for performance in school among students, but it can also be applied to situations outside of education.

• I flunked my test.
• Gabriel is afraid he’s going to flunk his final exam.
• Diane flunked out of med school.
• If you don’t want to flunk out of school, you have to study.
• Yussuf is flunking his math class.
• Ms. Roberts has a reputation for flunking her students. (A student flunks the test; the teacher flunks the student.)
• What are you going to do if you flunk your driving test?
• The president of the company is flunking his responsibilities.

As an adjective, the word "flunky" is used for a person who does the dirty work of a boss or a superior.

• The President seems to remain above the law while his flunkies go to jail.
• The orders to ship the stolen merchandise were carried out by flunkies to the boss.
• Steven is tired of being a flunky to his boss.

Learn more new vocabulary in the Word of the Day section.

January 7, 2019