LURCHES Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

lurches 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of lurch

as in sways

to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake

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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

lurches

2 of 2

noun

plural of lurch

as in collapses

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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 lurches

Verb

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 After a moment of hesitation, Harington lurches forward and plants a passionate kiss on Turner, who responds in kind. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Feb. 2026 When, at my photographer’s request, the president approaches the window of his office to open the blinds, his bodyguard lurches forward to close them. — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lurches

Verb

The set moves in and out, another set rolls over, and another is on a gimbal that sways as the whale moves.

— Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
But forcing heavy steel trains onto a floating highway that rolls, sways, and shifts with the tides was widely considered an invitation to disaster.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of sways

Verb

Steely and deliberate songwriting that casually staggers down the line between rhythm and melody, laced with loose yet conscious jams.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2026
Like many Florida school districts, OCPS staggers start times to most efficiently use its school buses and drivers.

— Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026

Definition of staggers

Noun

Here, any distinction between spa and safari collapses, and the outdoors and wellness weave together.

— Adrienne Matei, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
If drugstore brands follow prestige lines into oil-in-serum formulations, the two-step routine collapses into one.

— Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of collapses

Verb

To cover other basic bases, this laptop rocks a standard 60Hz refresh rate, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage, which is typical for a laptop at this price point.

— Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 8 Oct. 2026
Her shrunken two-piece skirt suit—the jacket cropped to reveal her abs, the skirt extra-mini—perfectly encapsulated the cartoonish silhouette that Barbie so often rocks.

— Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of rocks

Noun

Officials said special attention will be given to gravel roads that could be susceptible to washouts and erosion.

— Detroit Free Press, Freep.com, 4 Sep. 2026
But in a world where a few basis points separates legends from washouts, a 10-point edge is an enormous windfall for anyone who trusted Kalshi’s numbers over those crunched by CME, the giant futures-exchange operator.

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of washouts

Verb

Near the epicenter, the agency estimated an intensity of VIII, classified as severe on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, which measures how strongly the ground shakes at individual locations.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
Core Power protein shakes, sold under the Fairlife brand, will be available in banana and strawberry beginning in January, the first new flavors in almost a decade.

— Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of shakes

Noun

Finally, Vic gives up on being wheelbarrowed and full-body flops on the floor with only their feet under the velvet rope.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
But after Annapurna moved from financing its movies to distributing them in 2017, costs rose, flops piled up, and Megan Ellison scaled back her ambitions.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of flops

Noun

Every college football Saturday is a memorable one, but some weekends deliver more drama than others, and Week 6 certainly falls into that category after the upsets that took place all around the country.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
The poll saw many changes following a Saturday filled with upsets.

— Eric Olson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of upsets

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“Lurches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lurches. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lurches

verb

noun

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