Synonyms of lurches

lurches 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of lurch

1

as in sways

to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions

the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sways
• rocks
• shakes
• wobbles
• careens
• tosses
• halts
• vibrates
• jerks
• rolls
• falters
• tumbles
• seesaws
• staggers
• vacillates
• stumbles
• totters
• waddles
• wavers
• flounders
• hobbles
• jolts
• toddles
• weaves
• teeters
• oscillates
• undulates
• reels
• pitches
• blunders
• hitches
• waggles
• dodders
• bucks
• wags

2

as in staggers

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

• staggers
• shuffles
• weaves
• stumbles
• totters
• waddles
• careens
• stomps
• teeters
• rolls
• sways
• reels
• rocks
• dodders
• wobbles
• wavers
• seesaws
• flounders
• clomps
• shambles
• barges
• clumps
• lumbers
• blunders
• pounds
• lumps
• stamps
• scuffs
• swags
• tramps
• tromps
• scuffles
• galumphs

lurches

2 of 2

noun

plural of lurch

as in collapses

Related Words

• collapses
• washouts
• flops
• upsets
• setbacks
• fizzles
• whitewashes
• debacles
• fiascoes
• shutouts
• failures
• overthrows
• defeats
• trimmings
• routs
• lickings
• nonsuccesses
• beatings
• whippings
• drubbings
• losses
• shellackings
• plasterings
• lumps

Dissimilar Words

• wins
• triumphs
• victories
• successes
• sweeps
• accomplishments
• achievements
• landslides
• runaways
• blowouts
• romps
• cakewalks
• walkaways
• walkovers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lurches

Verb

Hop on the #6 double-decker from Central to Stanley beach, which lurches around Hong Kong Island's mountainous southern South China Sea coast (sit upstairs on the right-hand side). — Lee Cobaj, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026

He is disoriented, and the plane lurches toward becoming inverted. — Liz McNeil, PEOPLE, 12 Oct. 2026

The alternative is a region that lurches from crisis to crisis, and from one extreme to another. — Dan Restrepo, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026

With a cigarette dangling from her lips, ashes and curse words ever ready to fall, Angela lurches around the house critical of everything and everyone. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026

Push your right foot down, and the Grand Sport lurches forward like a bat out of hell and straight into two esses, which right away show you how nicely dialed-in the steering is. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 3 Sep. 2026

By the end, Noonan’s film stops feeling like a first date and starts to resemble the makings of a crime scene as his mood lurches toward something dangerous. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 May 2026

Republicans’ hopes of holding on to their slim majorities in the House and Senate may well hinge on the cost at the pump as the war against Iran lurches into its second week. — Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Mar. 2026

But Wembanyama is on the short list of MVP favorites as the league lurches toward the playoffs, a list that includes former NBA champions Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of OKC, Denver’s Nikola Jokic along with Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles’ Luka Doncic. — Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 21 Feb. 2026