Synonyms of lurching

lurching

verb

present participle of lurch

1

as in swaying

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

the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake

Synonyms & Similar Words

• swaying
• rocking
• shaking
• rolling
• jerking
• wobbling
• careening
• tossing
• halting
• vibrating
• tumbling
• seesawing
• faltering
• stumbling
• vacillating
• staggering
• tottering
• waddling
• wavering
• blundering
• floundering
• hobbling
• reeling
• jolting
• pitching
• weaving
• bucking
• teetering
• hitching
• oscillating
• toddling
• undulating
• doddering
• waggling
• wagging

2

as in staggering

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

• staggering
• shuffling
• weaving
• stumbling
• rolling
• tottering
• waddling
• stomping
• careening
• reeling
• swaying
• teetering
• rocking
• doddering
• wobbling
• wavering
• shambling
• blundering
• floundering
• pounding
• seesawing
• scuffling
• barging
• clumping
• stamping
• lumbering
• galumphing
• swagging
• lumping
• tramping
• scuffing
• clomping
• tromping

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lurching

Maybe this is what the Chargers are — lurching, sputtering and unable to consistently move the football, despite an offensive overhaul packed with lofty expectations. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

One more try and the orchestra slides up the expressive contrast a few notches to intensify the feeling of lurching from mood to mood. — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Still, there is no working around the fact that a manual transmission is a pain in traffic – with the endless clutching and shifting and lurching forward in first gear. — Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026

There followed an uncomfortable, lurching ride in a rickety old coach. — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

The United States, which had been lurching toward entry in the Second World War, was suddenly and inescapably thrust into global conflict. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026

Republicans see Democrats lurching to the left and embracing socialism as an opening to link their opponents to the far more radical communism. — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026

The same boom-and-bust dependency on the oil industry, whose profits were now funnelled through the regime and its allies, kept the country lurching from one crisis to the next. — Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 30 June 2026

The old guard of the Democratic Party suffered another body blow when three socialist congressional candidates in New York with anti-Israel platforms swept to victory, lurching the party even further to the left. — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 25 June 2026