as in to play (on or upon)
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Recent Examples of jerk around
And that’s not even taking into consideration the continual jerking around of Busy Philipps.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 July 2025
He was locked up to be a franchise player, and franchise players aren’t typically jerked around like that.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 18 June 2025
The vehicles are tricked out with surround sound, too; and at one point on our joyride the bus was jerked around by the bus driver to simulate the sensation of a subway speeding underfoot.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
The shocking news out of this summer’s Olympic break-dancing competition in Paris wasn’t that a female Australian competitor had hopped and jerked around like Uma Thurman being revived from a drug coma in Pulp Fiction.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons Category: Starter to star After a year where the former lottery pick was jerked around in regard to minutes, role, and even on-court responsibilities, Ivey is now set to enter his third year, finally with some stability attached to his name.
—Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
For a population like Gaza’s, there’s not enough food, people have been jerked around from place to place.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
The guy in the center seat where the stringer was tied off noticed it was being jerked around.
—Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 July 2025
He was locked up to be a franchise player, and franchise players aren’t typically jerked around like that.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 18 June 2025
The vehicles are tricked out with surround sound, too; and at one point on our joyride the bus was jerked around by the bus driver to simulate the sensation of a subway speeding underfoot.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
The shocking news out of this summer’s Olympic break-dancing competition in Paris wasn’t that a female Australian competitor had hopped and jerked around like Uma Thurman being revived from a drug coma in Pulp Fiction.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons Category: Starter to star After a year where the former lottery pick was jerked around in regard to minutes, role, and even on-court responsibilities, Ivey is now set to enter his third year, finally with some stability attached to his name.
—Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
For a population like Gaza’s, there’s not enough food, people have been jerked around from place to place.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
The guy in the center seat where the stringer was tied off noticed it was being jerked around.
—Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk around
Verb
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Over the past year, security researchers have been warning that hackers are increasingly targeting the technology behind global shipping, quietly manipulating systems that move goods worth millions of dollars.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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The messages—widely condemned as vulgar, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic—also revealed discussions about manipulating media coverage, targeting political opponents, and casual references to the misuse of public funds.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Now, the question of whether the US could again use force – or tactics like tariffs or sanctions – to strong-arm countries into choosing Washington’s interests over ties with China is a viable risk being evaluated in the region’s capitals.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
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Those who bought the checks would then attempt to fraudulently cash them, according to federal prosecutors, using a variety of methods.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Armstrong has been charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit with single counts of human trafficking of a minor, pimping a minor over the age of 16 years and pandering with a minor over 16 years old — all felonies.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
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Those arrested during the operation include four men charged with pimping, pandering and violating a protective order, who face anywhere between six and 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Weiser, who is running for governor in this year’s election, characterized the attacks as Trump trying to leverage the power of the executive branch to exercise unconstitutional authority over how individual states conduct elections and oversee their criminal justice systems.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
9 Jan. 2026
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But a constant churn of financial maneuvers (spinning off Saks’ e-commerce, creating co-working spaces in underutilized stores, all while being highly leveraged) brought some benefit but never obviated the need to invest more in basics.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Legal Accountability Project claims circuit court executives failed to intervene when Merriam continued to mistreat staff after the first complaint.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
1 Jan. 2026
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In its statement following his death, PETA accused Easley of mistreating the tigers under his care.—
Brian Brant,
PEOPLE,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said Kayode Agbolade Ogunba allegedly abused patients at a local care home.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The victim-survivor in this case was not the only child Weberman abused.—
Guila Benchimol,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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