as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a jerry-rigged switch to keep the machine in operation until it can be repaired
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Recent Examples of jerry-rigged
That modernity means Halo: Campaign Evolved occasionally feels a bit weird, like Halo Studios jerry-rigged a jet engine to a Subaru Outback.
—
Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Lenovo's software has also matured, so switching between games feels more like playing a game console and less like a laptop jerry-rigged into a handheld.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 5 Sep. 2025
This repurposing reflects how biological evolution is jerry-rigged, making use of what’s available.
—Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025
Amanda, introduced only briefly in the first movie, takes center stage as she and a group of troubled (and particularly shouty) people try to fight their way out of a house jerry-rigged with all manner of nasty devices.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2025
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Lenovo's software has also matured, so switching between games feels more like playing a game console and less like a laptop jerry-rigged into a handheld.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 5 Sep. 2025
This repurposing reflects how biological evolution is jerry-rigged, making use of what’s available.
—Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025
Amanda, introduced only briefly in the first movie, takes center stage as she and a group of troubled (and particularly shouty) people try to fight their way out of a house jerry-rigged with all manner of nasty devices.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2025
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
-
Although at least 20 players support some type of protest, the rollout of the boycott that never happened, came across a bit clumsy.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
For one, the Frenchie vision is just corny and clumsy, and so is the idea of Kimiko harnessing the power of love to defeat the bad guy without succumbing to vengeful rage.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
The pitching staff has been jostled, with a rough outing by lefty reliever Aaron Bummer on Monday necessitating his release on Tuesday.—
Ken Sugiura,
AJC.com,
20 May 2026
-
Government bonds in Australia and New Zealand are having a rough May.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a way to do this without being rude.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
-
The strength of your answer doesn’t require you to be rude.—
John Richardson
Attia Qureshi,
CNBC,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
When the Hawks’ season ended last month, following an unfathomable 51-point loss to the Knicks in Game 6 of the first-round Eastern Conference series, the prevailing notion seemed to be that the Hawks were fatally flawed.—
Lauren Williams,
AJC.com,
23 May 2026
-
This approach is fundamentally flawed.—
Joel Scutchfield,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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