as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
my jerry-built wine racks may not look pretty, but they get the job done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-built
Adjective
-
Even young Oklahoma City required a clumsy postseason audition.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026 -
The driver and his accomplice then mounted a clumsy getaway that resulted in their scooter crashing about three blocks from the scene, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
An oil shock above $100 is a test of whether the American economy has rebuilt enough middle-class margin to withstand volatility.—
Katica Roy,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
It was later rebuilt near what is today the on-ramp for Interstate 110, but closed in 1931 when its members inaugurated the current synagogue on nearby Palafox Street, and the previous structure became a roller-skating rink.—
Larry Luxner,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Every item at Archived has a story, from the Giseok Kim aluminum shelf where an unworn pair of 2005 reconstructed Nike Dunks are displayed, to the Marc Newson racks which archival Rick Owens hangs off.—
Samantha Lee
Connect
April 17,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Minnesota’s roster had to be reconstructed with the free agency departures of Smith and Natisha Hiedeman, who agreed to a deal with Seattle.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Spring is typically prime time for the housing market, but this year’s season is off to a rough start.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The star also gets a rough ride from many of the elementary school interviewees that allows the unlikely gardening enthusiast to embrace his more familiar manchild.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Pete Hegseth rebukes 'rude' reporter who interrupted Pentagon briefing on Iran.—
,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Meanwhile, wearing baseball caps backward is considered a rude violation of etiquette, and going barefoot is not allowed.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Ultimately, a federal judge issued a short-term temporary restraining order soon afterward that halted work to retrofit the building.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Sierra Space have proposed the spacecraft could be retrofitted for other tasks, including national security missions, and Dream Chaser’s relatively gentle landings from orbit would be a key selling point for delicate onboard experiments.—
Tom Metcalfe,
Scientific American,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Although in the hours before splashdown, all eyes were on their spacecraft’s heat shield — which NASA previously said was flawed, according to The New York Times — NASA developed a modified path for the Artemis II mission in order to keep the crew safe during re-entry.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Late payments for major construction projects, expenditures listed in the wrong fiscal year and a flawed budgeting process are just some of the financial problems Groveland needs to fix, the Lake County city’s mayor said in an unusual presentation this week.—
James Wilkins,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In deciding how to organize roughly 2,000 works of art across 110,000 square feet of exhibition space, LACMA devised a conceptual schema that isn’t apparent in the galleries themselves.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Libraries are among the most democratic institutions a civilized society has ever devised.—
James Porter,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-built.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-built. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
