JERKING Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

jerking

verb

present participle of jerk

as in yanking

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 twitching

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 shaking

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements the car jerked with every shift of the gear

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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 jerking Stuttering lines, on the left, jerking up and down, denote the rattle of guns; on the right, the lines are all but flat, as silence descends. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 Logan Howlett, got a tear-jerking send-off in James Mangold’s Logan. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026 Nighttime in the Okefenokee is filled with a wild cacophony — the choruses of pig frogs, hooting owls, crickets and sometimes the deep, nerve-jerking bellowing of bull alligators. — Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 25 July 2026 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also advises against twisting or jerking the tick. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 15 July 2026 Watching their relationship devolve (never more so than when their sperm donor, a rakish, motorcycle-driving restaurant owner played by Mark Ruffalo, enters the scene) is most definitely a tear-jerking experience, as is the film’s final scene. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 June 2026 Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper. — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 June 2026 Although not all the novel’s major characters make it to the end of this uplifting yet tear-jerking work of historical fiction, Six-Thirty safely perseveres. — Camille Perri, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026 Avoid jerking the floss or aggressive movements; instead, use smooth, gentle motions. — Sherri Gordon, Health, 12 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerking

Verb

The tentacular Scylla is seen briefly but makes an impact, yanking sailors off Odysseus’s ship in a series of loud jump scares.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Pinned beneath her rotting legs in his recliner chair, Loftis narrowly escapes by yanking its lever, catapulting the hag over his head.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of yanking

Verb

Philips said he’s been able to grow revenue by folding in four additional, smaller businesses, integrating their operations into his factory, and reinvesting heavily in systems rather than pulling cash out for himself.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2026
Beyond using high-quality and fresh beans, keeping them whole until just before pulling the espresso is just as important.

— Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of pulling

Verb

These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge.

— Nick Ayres DeMasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026
Choose Baits with Vibration Lipless crankbaits earn their keep each spring, as their shuddering motion creates the bait-mimicking tremors to which bass respond.

— David A. Brown, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026

Definition of shuddering

Verb

The same boom-and-bust dependency on the oil industry, whose profits were now funnelled through the regime and its allies, kept the country lurching from one crisis to the next.

— Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
The old guard of the Democratic Party suffered another body blow when three socialist congressional candidates in New York with anti-Israel platforms swept to victory, lurching the party even further to the left.

— Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 25 June 2026

Definition of lurching

Verb

So even in a 3-3 game in the sixth inning on the road against a division rival, the Braves had to turn to Thomas, a soft-tossing 28-year-old pitching in just his fourth MLB game.

— Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 28 July 2026
Instead, Meier advises tossing your trash in the correct cans provided.

— Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 July 2026