in the lurch

adjective

Definition of in the lurchnext
as in susceptible

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for in the lurch
  1. susceptible
  2. unprotected
  3. vulnerable
  4. helpless
  5. undefended
Adjective
  • Notably, losing an hour of daylight can take a toll on people who are susceptible to seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that peaks during the darker winter months.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Camellias are also susceptible to a number of diseases, the most serious of which are flower blight, root rot, and camellia dieback and canker.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024
Definition of susceptible
Adjective
  • The new advice is to test anyone with a significant bird flu exposure, such as an unprotected worker who’s been splashed in the face with raw milk on a dairy farm with known H5N1 infections in the herds.
    Erika Edwards, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Since teams aren't permitted to trade draft picks more than seven years in the future, the Bucks can only offer their fully unprotected 2031 first-round pick and their 2031 second-round pick in trades this season.
    Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Definition of unprotected
Adjective
  • The older trees themselves, more exposed in the landscape, could be more vulnerable to windstorms.
    April Ehrlich, ProPublica, 12 Nov. 2024
  • Beijing, on the other hand, remains reliant on Taiwanese technology products for its manufacturing industry, meaning that China is now arguably more vulnerable to a disruption in cross-strait trade than Taiwan.
    David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024
Definition of vulnerable
Adjective
  • While Chris Smith lay helpless, authorities say Tarr was plotting to silence him forever.
    Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2024
  • This creates a helpless but highly effective kind of suspense, as Iris must rely on her tormentor to mess up, at least until her limbs start to respond again.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 25 Oct. 2024
Definition of helpless
Adjective
  • In the north, Darwin was facing near-weekly bombing raids from Japanese bases on Timor and surrounding islands, and thousands of miles of tropical coastline were uninhabited and undefended.
    Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024
  • The whine of mosquitoes probing for just one millimeter of flesh undefended by DEET was constant, set off by a counterpoint buzz of horseflies circling my head.
    Rusty Foster, Washington Post, 23 July 2024
Definition of undefended
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near in the lurch

in the know

in the lurch

in the nude

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“In the lurch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/in%20the%20lurch. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

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

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
silhouette of a man with a megaphone against a british flag
Another Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Innit? A double-decker quiz with words from across the pond