JERKED Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

jerked

verb

past tense of jerk

as in yanked

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

Relevance

as in twitched

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

as in shook

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 show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of jerked During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026 Somewhere nearby, in a dark office, an eavesdropping oreja has just jerked to attention on his hard little chair. — Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026 Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026 Suddenly, the tent jerked and wobbled. — Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026 In the summer of 2020, former Morgan Stanley trader Adam Crawley was wandering through Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, perfecting his qigong with a man called Master YanG, when a cold message on LinkedIn jerked him back to reality. — Phoebe Liu, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 My empty paper bowl jerked along the belt, stopping under each funnel. — Billy Perrigo, Time, 8 May 2026 The plane jerked to a stop as two trucks passed just feet in front of its nose. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026 We are jerked between past and present as his backstory gets filled in, one jogged memory at a time. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerked

Verb

With the wheels threatening to come off, Rays manager Kevin Cash yanked Seymour and put in Kevin Kelly.

— Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
Ignoring that rule could get flood insurance coverage yanked for an entire community.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of yanked

Verb

Risch initially shook the challenger’s hand, then pulled back and brushed past him.

— Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 27 Oct. 2026
But Todd Golden’s squad shook off a sluggish first half, quickly turned a two-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage and kept the Hatters at bay during an 85-68 win Tuesday night in the O’Connell Center.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of shook

Verb

The insurrection drew immediate and obvious parallels to the United States, which, during much of the past decade, has lurched alongside Brazil through a strange hall of mirrors.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
And there was a frenzy as one man, grimacing and sweating, lurched along pulling a truck with a rope.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of lurched

Verb

The few immigrants who did vote improperly had their ballots tossed but otherwise faced no legal problems.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
The Panthers are coming off a 59-0 victory over Nevada Community; Heritage sophomore quarterback Lane Vargas tossed eight TD passes.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of tossed

Verb

Conservatives shuddered to think how close the country had come to permanent entangling alliances.

— Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
McDonald’s shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald’s 46,000 global stores.

— Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of shuddered

Verb

Michael Whatley‘s campaign against Democrat Roy Cooper on Tuesday evening, even as Republican PACs have quietly pulled funding from the race.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
Wilson is part of the reason three mothers pulled their children this year from a San Diego-area Christian school, which pursued an affiliation with ACCS.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.

— David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.

— Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026