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
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
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
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
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
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
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
-
At times, Alcaraz was almost as clumsy as Federer in his last hurrah here against Hubert Hurkacz in 2021.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
But things get weighed down by a clumsy body-swapping plot and a pairing between Joe and 22 that never fully pays off.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 15 cents to $65.37 per barrel.—
Elaine Kurtenbach,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
-
About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
Adjective
-
Avoid scrubbing the microwave’s interior with rough materials like steel wool or abrasive sponges.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
-
Ransom Canyon star Josh Duhamel didn’t have a rough time getting to know the set of his new film Off the Grid because the actor lives off the grid in real-life.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
And even if that feels rude by the standards of today, people were forced to answer her questions and answer to the things that the public wanted to know.—
Alex Jhamb Burns,
Vogue,
23 June 2025
-
There are so many things that can be off or what if just the woman walks in and just is not attracted to the guy or the man is rude to the waiter.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
His main opponent in the primary was a deeply flawed yet mainstream candidate.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
-
This character of Michelle was so juicy (laughs) and so flawed.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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