Adjacent Words

Funk definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FUNK, n. An offensive smell. [Vulgar.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a state of nervous depression; "he was in a funk" [syn: funk, blue funk]
2: United States biochemist (born in Poland) who showed that several diseases were caused by dietary deficiencies and who coined the term `vitamin' for the chemicals involved (1884-1967) [syn: Funk, Casimir Funk]
3: an earthy type of jazz combining it with blues and soul; has a heavy bass line that accentuates the first beat in the bar v
1: draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf" [syn: flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail]

Merriam Webster's

I. biographical name Casimir 1884-1967 American (Polish-born) biochemist II. biographical name Isaac Kauffman 1839-1912 American editor & publisher

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: probably ultimately from French dialect (Picard) funquer to give off smoke Date: 1623 a strong offensive smell II. Date: circa 1739 intransitive verb to become frightened and shrink back transitive verb 1. to be afraid of ; dread 2. to shrink from undertaking or facing III. noun Etymology: perhaps from obsolete Dutch dialect (Flanders) fonck Date: 1743 1. a. a state of paralyzing fear b. a depressed state of mind 2. one that funks ; coward 3. slump 1 <an economic funk> <the team went into a funk> IV. noun Etymology: back-formation from ²funky Date: 1959 1. music that combines traditional forms of black music (as blues, gospel, or soul) and is characterized by a strong backbeat 2. the quality or state of being funky <jeans…have lost much of their funk — Tom Wolfe>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. sl. --n. 1 fear, panic. 2 a coward. --v. Brit. 1 intr. flinch, shrink, show cowardice. 2 tr. try to evade (an undertaking), shirk. 3 tr. be afraid of. Etymology: 18th-c. Oxford sl.: perh. f. sl. FUNK(2) = tobacco-smoke 2. n. sl. 1 funky music. 2 US a strong smell. Etymology: funk blow smoke on, perh. f. F dial. funkier f. L (as FUMIGATE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Funk Funk, n. One who funks; a shirk; a coward. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Funk Funk, v. t. 1. To funk at; to flinch at; to shrink from (a thing or person); as, to funk a task. [Colloq.] 2. To frighten; to cause to flinch. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Funk Funk, v. i. 1. To emit an offensive smell; to stink. 2. To be frightened, and shrink back; to flinch; as, to funk at the edge of a precipice. [Colloq.] --C. Kingsley. To funk out, to back out in a cowardly fashion. [Colloq.] To funk right out o' political strife. --Lowell (Biglow Papers).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Funk Funk, Funking Funk"ing, n. A shrinking back through fear. [Colloq.] ``The horrid panic, or funk (as the men of Eton call it).'' --De Quincey.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Funk Funk, n. [OE. funke a little fire; akin to Prov. E. funk touchwood, G. funke spark, and perh. to Goth. f?n fire.] An offensive smell; a stench. [Low]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Funk Funk, v. t. To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke. [Obs.] --King.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Funk is a style of dance music based on jazz and blues, with a strong, repeated bass part. ...a mixture of experimental jazz, soul and funk.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Stink, stench, fetor, bad odor, offensive smell. 2. (Colloq.) Fear, fright, shrinking panic. II. v. n. (Colloq.) Shrink back, be in fear, be frightened, quail, blench.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To use an unfair motion of the hand in plumping at taw. SCHOOLBOY'S TERM.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To smoke; figuratively, to smoke or stink through fear. I was in a cursed funk. To funk the cobler; a schoolboy's trick, performed with assafoettida and cotton, which are stuffed into a pipe: the cotton being lighted, and the bowl of the pipe covered with a coarse handkerchief, the smoke is blown out at the small end, through the crannies of a cobler's stall.

Moby Thesaurus

Milquetoast, abject fear, affright, alarm, awe, baby, back out, big baby, blench, blink, blue funk, boggle, change color, chicken, chicken liver, chicken out, consternation, coward, cowardice, craven, cringe, curdle the blood, dastard, desert under fire, dismay, disquiet, draw back, dread, falter, fear, flinch, fraid-cat, fraidy-cat, freeze, fright, frighten, funk out, funker, get cold feet, grow pale, horrification, horripilate, horror, invertebrate, jellyfish, lily liver, lose courage, make one tremble, milksop, mouse, pale, panic, panic fear, phobia, poltroon, quail, quitter, raise apprehensions, recoil, reek, scare, scaredy-cat, scuttle, shake, shrink, sissy, skedaddle, spook, stagger, stampede, startle, stench, stink, take alarm, take fright, terror, turn color, turn pale, unholy dread, unman, unnerve, unstring, weak sister, weakling, white feather, white liver, wince