shirked; shirking; shirks

intransitive verb

1
: to go stealthily : sneak
2
: to evade the performance of an obligation

transitive verb

: avoid, evade
shirk one's duty
shirker noun

Examples of shirk in a Sentence

He's too conscientious to shirk his duty. He never shirked from doing his duty. They did their duty without shirking or complaining.
Recent Examples on the Web If Japan stops shirking its responsibility, its behavior might pressure others to follow suit—accelerating global action on decarbonization and hastening the adoption of climate friendly technologies. Richard Katz, Foreign Affairs, 21 Apr. 2021 Humana shirked its responsibility by telling the government that its plan would cover drug costs that Humana did not actually plan to cover. Kathryn Gregory, The Courier-Journal, 16 Aug. 2024 In May a viral tweet for example proclaimed an ostensible medical miracle: a woman with breast cancer shirked chemotherapy to cure her cancer with a special dietary protocol. David Robert Grimes, Scientific American, 1 July 2024 From engaging in an illicit affair that shattered her home and stability, to months of emotional warfare and now this attempt to further shirk personal responsibility for the effects his actions have had on her and her emotional wellbeing. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 18 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for shirk 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shirk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shirk was in 1681

Dictionary Entries Near shirk

Cite this Entry

“Shirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirk. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.

Kids Definition

shirk

verb
: to get out of doing especially what one ought to do
: avoid sense 3, evade
shirked their duty
shirker noun

More from Merriam-Webster on shirk

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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