1
as in avoided
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
you always try to shirk paying your fair share of the bill by claiming you "forgot" your wallet
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in neglected
to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness
a deadbeat who has been shirking his duty to his family for years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in snuck
to move about in a sly or secret manner
given the multitude of auditoriums at the multiplex, it's not too difficult for underaged kids to shirk into R-rated movies
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Recent Examples of shirked
In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett forcefully pushed back against Jackson’s suggestion the court shirked on its duty to protect the people from government overreach.
—
Ella Lee, The Hill, 27 June 2025
Ella Lee, The Hill, 27 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shirked
Verb
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As a result, Ecuador has avoided the extraordinary inflation that has afflicted so many nations in South America, including Argentina.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
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Snell deftly avoided the middle of the strike zone and had the Phillies off balance all night.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For nearby objects, the speed of light is great enough that the difference in time between source-and-observer can be neglected in most cases.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
2 Oct. 2025
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The plan also mentions a long-term horizon for self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state – a point not raised in previous proposals, which mainly focused on ending the war in Gaza but neglected to include a longer-term pathway to statehood.—
Asher Kaufman,
The Conversation,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Hauge skillfully evaded Porro for both of his goals.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Frank evaded questions about whether Robertson has ever asked for extra benefits that are not allowed under the NBA salary cap.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But Browning just threw one up to Ja’Marr Chase for the ice-breaker then hit him on a bomb and then snuck another one in on a simple flag route to Tee Higgins.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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The Jimmy Kimmel Live host's longtime rival snuck onto the show disguised as Frankie Focus, the new mascot for New York education who was introduced in tandem with the state's school cellphone ban.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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So the manager went back to Whitlock for a second inning of work in the eighth and Whitlock nearly escaped before running out of steam.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Staff said the python likely escaped its home and asked for help finding the snake’s owner.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Was Blass’s mental block a sign of what lurked on the other side of these quotidian failures?—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
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For weeks, the New York Ripper case has lurked on the periphery of the series — a boogeyman that the show kept hinting was someone in Dexter’s life.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For a date night out, Sánchez then slipped into a daring crimson number by Vivienne Westwood, the design featured a low neckline and and ruching that added an extra leggy element to the look.—
Michelle Lee,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
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Over the last 40-plus decades, Springsteen has slipped all 10 of its songs into setlists, whether on solo tours and with the E Street Band.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shirked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shirked. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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