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
-
The clumsy use of voice-overs is more embarrassing still.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
6 June 2025
-
In the latest, a clumsy but charming young woman in Paris, struggling to become a writer and longing for Jane Austen-style romance, finally has her moment at a Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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The government’s finances are highly sensitive to fluctuations in crude prices, with oil and gas earnings making up around 30% of federal revenues in 2024, according Heli Simola, senior economist at the Bank of Finland.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
6 June 2025
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Oil producers’ group OPEC+ decided to up its production levels despite weak crude prices, in what is being seen as a bid to hold on to its market share in a tough economic environment.—
Gaurav Sharma,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
If your skin is extremely dry and rough, however, the La Roche-Posay Body Moisturizer is rich in prebiotic thermal water, shea butter, and niacinamide is another one of Tookes’ recommendations.—
India Espy-Jones,
Essence,
2 June 2025
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Cloudy skies, rough surf and limited battery life can all reduce their effectiveness.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Carry-on rules exist for a reason and deliberately ignoring the rules is both rude and inconsiderate to everyone else who is.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
-
Matthews walked out of the home to talk to the suspect but returned to the house, saying Hoskins-Ellis said something rude to him.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2025
Adjective
-
In every case, flawed data doesn’t just slow down hiring.—
Hariharan Kolam,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
-
The logic Daly uses to justify not making changes is just so inherently flawed.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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