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
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lurching
The administration’s lurching one way and another with tariffs is another example.
—
Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 20 Sep. 2025
The title track opens the affair by lurching and creeping forward for ten minutes with odd, off-putting lyrics.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
The result, nearly eight months into his second term, is an economy that appears to be lurching into a new era of state control.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 20 Sep. 2025
The title track opens the affair by lurching and creeping forward for ten minutes with odd, off-putting lyrics.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
The result, nearly eight months into his second term, is an economy that appears to be lurching into a new era of state control.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lurching
Verb
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Skyrocketing housing costs may be swaying Americans from having children, contributing to plunging birth rates in the country, data suggests.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
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And Bunny seemed to be swaying now slightly to our various musics.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The young men in Bruins blue and gold staggering off the field afterwards dazed, confused.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
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Roughly two-thirds of the state’s billionaires made their fortunes in finance and investments, including richest resident (former NYC mayor) Michael Bloomberg, who’s worth staggering $109 billion.—
Ella Malmgren,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rinna appears not once, not twice, but thrice on the cover, rocking a blue mini dress paired with bright red gloves and tights.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
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Drake has been spotted rocking traditional German drip.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The video shows agents ducking for cover in front of two white vans while quickly shuffling detainees inside the facility, where an ICE agent frantically guided the detainees down a hallway.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Brooke Taylor,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
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Instead of shuffling through the deep cabinet shelves for small jars, attach rows of slim shelves with dowel rods to safely hold a few dozen spices.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Not even a month had passed since his big sister, Toraya, was shot and killed at an apartment complex in New Jersey, devastating the Reid family and shaking the Timberwolves organization to its core.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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In sixteenth-century Europe, just as Martin Luther’s ideas were shaking Catholic institutions, a far more radical movement for freedom rose up among peasants.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Anderson is a rare and rangy breed of cinematic maximalist—a satirical quasi-historian and pop-cultural magpie with a gift for weaving disparate influences into a marvellously unruly synthesis.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
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Of course, for most visitors, the very act of lining up, sweating, and weaving through stalls is part of the magic of visiting Taiwan.—
Clarissa Wei,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lurching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lurching. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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