as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a jury-rigged system for supplying the town's water while the main pumping station is being repaired
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in patched (together)
to make or assemble roughly or hastily
we jury-rigged shelves out of cartons and crates until we could afford real furniture
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of jury-rigged
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Verb
The trade between the periphery and the core was jury-rigged to favor the latter.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jury-rigged
Adjective
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The clumsy, confusing rollout of the fees certainly didn’t help — as many residents who were promised a locals discount couldn’t figure out how to tap that benefit.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Each additional finger adds mass, increasing the chances that fingers will collide, and making overall movement more clumsy.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The Clippers came into that game having won 13 of their past 15 games, including a rough one against the Washington Wizards on Monday.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
22 Jan. 2026
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Off-screen, Affleck has a slightly rougher star persona, while Damon’s can be a little more withdrawn and intellectual.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The orderly, progressive, and highly institutionalized blending of electoral politics with stable administrative states that dominated Western European and American politics for the past half century shares little with this rude and revolutionary force.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
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Audrey and Eli’s first meeting is a contentious one, with accusations and rude words and eventually pieces of fruit getting thrown around in all directions.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Mangione's lawyers argue the charges enabling prosecutors to seek capital punishment are technically flawed and that the government prejudiced Mangione by publicly declaring its intent before obtaining an indictment.—
MICHAEL R. SISAK,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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There are risks of writing from the SGG perspective, just like there are risks of writing from the perspective of any deeply-flawed protagonist.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The no-cloning theorem has presented a major challenge for quantum researchers, who have sought to overcome it with solutions such as imperfect cloning and probabilistic cloning, which uses the broadcasting of mixed states.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
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In Relationship Goals, his character’s transformation is sincere, but imperfect at times.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jury-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jury-rigged. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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