1
as in bastard
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
his constant rudeness and insensitivity made everyone think he was a real jerk
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
1
as in to yank
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
I jerked to one side to avoid getting hit jerked the leash to get the dog's attention
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2
as in to twitch
to make jerky or restless movements
you've got to quit jerking, or the barber will nick you by accident
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to shake
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
the car jerked with every shift of the gear
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of jerk
Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
Hope the manipulative jerk can find the soft and tender Sugar Mama/Daddy/Couple that his gooey, marshmallow interior craves; someone to stroke his hair, call him a good and gifted boy, and put gold stars on his chart.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2024
At night, my arm and leg began jerking, waking me from uneasy sleep.
—Katie Gutierrez, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jerk 
Noun
While at times Lively may have a reputation of being a jerk, Viall said on the show, that didn't explain why castmates reportedly unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
Hope the manipulative jerk can find the soft and tender Sugar Mama/Daddy/Couple that his gooey, marshmallow interior craves; someone to stroke his hair, call him a good and gifted boy, and put gold stars on his chart.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
Verb
After several seconds, the man jerked up as if on springs, back from the edge of death.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2024
At night, my arm and leg began jerking, waking me from uneasy sleep.
—Katie Gutierrez, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jerk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk
Noun
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The big planets can shift Earth’s orbit slightly, and how our planet reacts to this interplanetary tug can set new temperature patterns in motion.Longreads, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024
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The tugs will deliver the ship to the docks of Modern American Recycling Services – MARS – a company that specializes in vessel salvage and other marine operations.George Petras, USA TODAY, 14 Nov. 2024
Verb
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On Monday, two police officers struggled to pull a coyote out of a fridge at an Aldi store, with a now-viral video showing an officer yank it out by its tail before the animal jumps right back into the fridge.Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
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At one point another DOC officer, wearing blue latex gloves, yanks him up by the scruff of the neck and drags him to the back of the room by a window.Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2025
Verb
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As the omen begins to descend onto Karen’s house, the hairs of the mermaids’ arms stand up; their scales twitch in fear.Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2024
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Not the American economy, which twitched from panic to triumph to panic and, in 1907, had to be bailed out with private funds from Morgan and his associates.Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Venus will conjunct Saturn in Pisces — shaking your expansive ninth house of adventure, wisdom and belief systems — presenting you with a chance to harness your intuition and emotional intelligence to create a practical plan.Valerie Mesa, People.com, 17 Jan. 2025
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Back then, a nearly 3% devaluation shook markets everywhere.William Pesek, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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According to LifeLine, the DeKalb shelter takes in 135 dogs a week on average.Jim Gaines, ajc, 13 Sep. 2023
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The remains were found by two men who were running their dogs and looking for rocks, according to DNASolves.CBS News, CBS News, 13 Sep. 2023
Noun
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For decades, China’s massive size and growth created a sort of gravitational pull.Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 14 Jan. 2025
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Imagine the chaos of trying to replicate the cultural pull of something like @EmilyMariko’s viral salmon bowl tutorial on platforms less conducive to serendipitous discovery.Shira Jeczmien, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Context: Cox, who previously nurtured a profile as a moderate conservative and critic of President-elect Trump, lurched to the political right last year.Erin Alberty, Axios, 14 Jan. 2025
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The departing team rushed out and climbed into the vehicle, which lurched away, vanishing with haste.C.J. Chivers Robert Fass Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
Verb
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DiVincenzo stood in place for a brief period after the horn sounded, tossing his arms up once more.Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 12 Jan. 2025
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Trump has tossed expansionist rhetoric not just at Canada but also at other U.S. allies, with arguments that the frontiers of American power need to be extended to the Danish territory of Greenland, and southward to include the Panama Canal.Jim Morris, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near jerk
Cite this Entry
“Jerk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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