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
A lot of what can and should be built are bespoke products in their own right that would otherwise have been jerry-rigged from external companies.
—
Naveen Zutshi, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Naveen Zutshi, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
-
The historic victory, the nation’s first ever in the World Cup, was overshadowed when the midfielder injured his leg in gruesome fashion following a clumsy challenge from Qatar’s Assim Madibo.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
19 June 2026
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Better systems beat willpower as clumsy Chiron enters your 6th House of Work and Health, reminding you that mistakes teach faster than shame.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
19 June 2026
Adjective
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For as rough as the lineup continued to look, the injuries are yet again piling up on the pitching side.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2026
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This gives you a rough idea of how much of each ingredient is contained in a food.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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It’s widely considered rude and annoying when people cluster by the train doors if there are more people on the platform attempting to get on.—
Claudia Fisher,
Travel + Leisure,
15 June 2026
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Many of these terms were meant as insults and were – and remain today – tremendously rude, but others reflect the bewilderment of trying to categorize people who don’t fit into standard categories easily.—
Ky Merkley,
The Conversation,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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When an audience member posed a hypothetical choice between a flawed but distinctive film and a polished but unremarkable one, Leung said either would do, arguing that cinema’s goal was sincerity, in performance or in a director’s expression, rather than polish.—
Jenny S. Li,
Variety,
20 June 2026
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By the time the tournament reached Argentina four years later, though, the Dutch were not quite the slick — if defensively-flawed — outfit that played in 1974.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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