as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a jerry-rigged switch to keep the machine in operation until it can be repaired
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Recent Examples of jerry-rigged
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
But the constant hither and yon of Izi abandoning Benji and then coming back gets a little tired over the long haul and feels jerry-rigged to add conflict.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This will give you a buzz: Amid the current writers and actors strike setting Hollywood ablaze, Jeopardy! has jerry-rigged a way to move forward without its writing staff for season 40.
—Vulture, 7 Aug. 2023
Alternatively, Ukrainian technicians could have jerry-rigged a rudimentary inertial and/or GPS guidance to integrate with the missile’s pre-existing Inertial Measurement Unit tracking the missile’s speed and bearing.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
But the constant hither and yon of Izi abandoning Benji and then coming back gets a little tired over the long haul and feels jerry-rigged to add conflict.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This will give you a buzz: Amid the current writers and actors strike setting Hollywood ablaze, Jeopardy! has jerry-rigged a way to move forward without its writing staff for season 40.
—Vulture, 7 Aug. 2023
Alternatively, Ukrainian technicians could have jerry-rigged a rudimentary inertial and/or GPS guidance to integrate with the missile’s pre-existing Inertial Measurement Unit tracking the missile’s speed and bearing.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
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One of its stranger spinoffs was the grandiose, tactically clumsy Symbionese Liberation Army — an army of perhaps a dozen white men and women led by a black escaped convict.Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
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Maye represents Tomorrowland for an organization that’s desperately trying to move on from a half-decade of clumsy, disheveled yesterdays, which means his health and fitness are mighty important.Steve Buckley, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Goldman Sachs estimates that the vessels targeted by the sanctions amounted to 25% of Russia’s energy exports, with the majority being crude oil.Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2025
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With 1 million barrels of crude oil aboard, it had been struck and later sabotaged with explosives by the Houthis as part of their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.JON GAMBRELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, arkansasonline.com, 11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That way, your rough and weathered heels will be healed and hydrated.Jenna Ryu, SELF, 9 Jan. 2025
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This is a rough first cut of Biden's foreign policy legacy.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Less than one day into 2025, the superstar has already punched in with one of her characteristic comebacks, shutting down a troll who demanded new music and called her a rude name on Instagram Wednesday (Jan. 1).Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 2 Jan. 2025
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Some on social media accused her of ostracizing Baldoni to take control of the film, and her responses to interviewers were branded as rude.Doha Madani, NBC News, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Better than biogas Despite the shortcomings of California’s decision to value manure biogas so highly, there was some logic — however flawed — to the decision.Kenny Torrella, Vox, 13 Jan. 2025
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But an analysis by the Associated Press late last year found the study had relied on old and flawed data to make its conclusions.Will Carless, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
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