SITTING DUCK Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

sitting duck

noun

Definition of sitting duck

as in target

a person or thing that is the object of abuse, criticism, or ridicule those stupid comments just made him a sitting duck for comedians

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 sitting duck Other than Adobe, which is expensive but very good, these companies are not sitting ducks. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026 Shipping lanes suffered, neutrality became meaningless, and actual fishing vessels became sitting ducks. — New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025 In other words, a sitting duck. — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 9 Dec. 2025 Club owners are kind of sitting ducks. — Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sitting duck

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting duck

Noun

The Commission’s proposed 46% target falls short of that ambition, and of its own analysis, which identifies 50% as the economically optimal pathway to 2040.

— Sophie Dembinski, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Still, Musk has a track record of setting optimistic release targets for Tesla products, only to miss them by years.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of target

Noun

The Baton Rouge Police Department identified the victims as 21-year-old Leah Fonte and 21-year-old Shane Hirstius, who were engaged.

— Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has begun notifying victims impacted by a recent data breach of driver’s license and motor vehicle data, but not everyone whose information was stolen will receive an alert.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of victim

Browse Nearby Words

sitting

sitting duck

sitting ducks

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Sitting duck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20duck. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of sitting duck

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes