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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of jerk
Laura Poppick
july 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
No, the worst Christopher Reeve Superman film is not the embarrassing Cannon Films installment but rather the one featuring a world-class comedian, a woman turning into a computer, and a terrific junkyard battle between Clark Kent and his belligerent jerk doppelganger.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 11 July 2025
Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Patrick Walle’s horn solo up top sounded suspended in time, before an increasingly feral orchestra jerked us back to street level.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for jerk
Noun
What once sat blank and unmoving begins to flow and creak and jerk beneath its own weight.
—Laura Poppick
july 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
No, the worst Christopher Reeve Superman film is not the embarrassing Cannon Films installment but rather the one featuring a world-class comedian, a woman turning into a computer, and a terrific junkyard battle between Clark Kent and his belligerent jerk doppelganger.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 11 July 2025
Verb
Centre Court looked naked without line judges, but Fognini’s presence and touch filled the void and jerked the joie de vivre out of Alcaraz’s racket.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Patrick Walle’s horn solo up top sounded suspended in time, before an increasingly feral orchestra jerked us back to street level.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for jerk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk
Noun
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Most exoplanetary discoveries instead arise through far more indirect means, such as the dip in a star’s light caused by a world passing between its sun and our telescope or the tiny wobbling of a star caused by an orbiting planet’s gravitational tug.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
7 Aug. 2025
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The nearby fire department rushed by boat to the crash site and were assisted by a private tug boat that helped douse the fire that belched black smoke from the barge, said Alton Deputy Fire Chief Matt Fischer.—
Jesse Bedayn,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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About half of them worked to yank the women off each other while the rest cordoned off the scene with outstretched arms.—
Ella McCarthy,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
-
Starbucks yanked its full-year forecast in October, shortly after Niccol took the reins of the company and months before Smith joined.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
29 July 2025
Verb
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One of the 50 boys starts convulsing on the road, and as Jonsson and Hoffman’s characters walk backwards to see what happens, soldiers have their guns trained on his twitching body before a gunshot rings out.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
25 July 2025
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This is why after a snake is killed, its body will still twitch and move around, and why its head can still bite.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Han shook off criticisms of the small ring by also noting that both Belly and Jeremiah are college students on a budget.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Rinse the greens in the empty side of the sink, then put the greens in the colander, rinse again, shake off, and rinse again.—
Amy Brightfield,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Aug. 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
-
Responding officers found the dog, and advised the owner to take the dog in.—
cleveland,
cleveland,
13 Sep. 2023
Noun
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They aren’t constrained by attention spans or the pull of conformity.—
Neeraj Gulati,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
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Architect and San Diego native Mark Silva couldn’t resist the pull.—
Jen Murphy,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Later in the drive, FSD lurched right – for no apparent reason – and tried to go down a steep driveway grade toward a locked gate.—
Brooke Crothers,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
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From the outside, the company has appeared to be lurching from one crisis to the next.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
7 July 2025
Verb
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From there, Young tossed an accurate ball to Sanders for a would-be first down and it was dropped by the second-year tight end, who has put together an otherwise excellent camp.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Aug. 2025
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Teams of two will compete by tossing bacon from skillet to skillet.—
Andy Humbles,
The Tennessean,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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