1
as in swayed
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions
the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in staggered
to move forward while swaying from side to side
dressed in his zombie costume, the boy lurched down the street in his quest for Halloween candy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lurched
So between those two things, the balance of gerrymanders has lurched pretty abruptly toward the right.
—
Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 15 May 2026
Meanwhile, federal policy has lurched in opposite directions.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 15 May 2026
Each assault count corresponds to a moment Mendoza Hernandez’s car lurched forward, about seven seconds apart.
—Scott Lebar. Story Produced With Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
For weeks, the Strait of Hormuz has lurched between open and closed — mostly the latter — depending on the day’s escalation, underscoring how fragile a system built on global fossil fuel chokepoints has become.
—Jennifer Granholm, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Wembanyama lurched forward, toppled and slammed the right side of his face on the floor.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
When robots lurched, slipped, and occasionally froze mid-stride at the 2026 Beijing half-marathon on April 19, the internet quickly turned the spectacle into a meme.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026
Don’t gag, don’t cry — and my stomach lurched.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
Since then, the larger culture has lurched rightward, with big corporations abandoning progressive signaling in favor of…other priorities.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 15 May 2026
Meanwhile, federal policy has lurched in opposite directions.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 15 May 2026
Each assault count corresponds to a moment Mendoza Hernandez’s car lurched forward, about seven seconds apart.
—Scott Lebar. Story Produced With Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
For weeks, the Strait of Hormuz has lurched between open and closed — mostly the latter — depending on the day’s escalation, underscoring how fragile a system built on global fossil fuel chokepoints has become.
—Jennifer Granholm, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Wembanyama lurched forward, toppled and slammed the right side of his face on the floor.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
When robots lurched, slipped, and occasionally froze mid-stride at the 2026 Beijing half-marathon on April 19, the internet quickly turned the spectacle into a meme.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026
Don’t gag, don’t cry — and my stomach lurched.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
Since then, the larger culture has lurched rightward, with big corporations abandoning progressive signaling in favor of…other priorities.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lurched
Verb
-
But during the aufguss ceremony at BASIN Glacial Waters, people smiled and laughed and swayed to the music, and Kyan’s dance-like towel moves distracted me from the discomfort of the heat.—
Jen Murphy,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 May 2026
-
According to the court, Hill made comments that could have swayed how jurors viewed the evidence and pushed them toward a guilty verdict.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Moments later, dazed residents staggered out as others rushed in to help.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
-
The Chiefs staggered throughout the campaign and looked like a husk of their usual, dominant selves.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The former premier is considered a political ally of Sánchez, whose party has been rocked by other corruption scandals over the past two years.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 May 2026
-
Claude's Mythos, which rocked the financial world with its ability to exploit vulnerabilities in existing software, is a sign of how fast the industry changes.—
Elizabeth MacBride,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Her plea will spare a lengthy discovery period and likely mark the legal denouement of a federal probe that shook Sacramento after the FBI recorded dozens of lobbyists in the summer of 2024 as part of the investigation.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
14 May 2026
-
The writer-director sets her sophomore feature barely two years after the country shook off the despot’s iron grip.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
John jerked Maggie back by the elbow and stopped her from stepping into the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
-
My empty paper bowl jerked along the belt, stopping under each funnel.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lurched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lurched. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
