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 sneaked
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shirked
Before the verdict arrived, Musk’s lawyer apologized after Musk shirked a court order requiring him to be available in case any further testimony was needed in the case.
—
Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 18 May 2026
There is no question about his attitude or application; this is not a case of a player who has shirked responsibility or failed to work hard enough in training or in matches.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Rudnev shirked money, power, and influence, of any kind.
—William Jones, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
Importers are supposed to notify Cal Fire when a shipment arrives, but a Bee investigation found that the companies linked to the Esparto property shirked that requirement for years.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 22 Jan. 2026
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
Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 18 May 2026
There is no question about his attitude or application; this is not a case of a player who has shirked responsibility or failed to work hard enough in training or in matches.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Rudnev shirked money, power, and influence, of any kind.
—William Jones, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
Importers are supposed to notify Cal Fire when a shipment arrives, but a Bee investigation found that the companies linked to the Esparto property shirked that requirement for years.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 22 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shirked
Verb
-
San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama avoided adding a third flagrant point to his postseason total.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
-
While the city avoided laying off a number of its already lean staff — which neighbors like San Francisco have had to reckon with — the city’s financial troubles are far from over.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
He was not abused or neglected in any way.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
11 June 2026
-
Andersen had sent Dickens a copy of his fairy tales translated into English, and Dickens neglected to show the children.—
Stuart Miller,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado snuck out of the country and travelled to Oslo to celebrate her recent Nobel Peace Prize win, defying an arrest warrant by Caracas, which has pursued her for years.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
11 Dec. 2025
-
Wilson and Aces point guard Chelsea Gray sneaked into an empty room after the game and cried in each other’s arms.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Among his most famous pursuits was his years-long hunt for Bob Dozier, a murderer and cattle thief who repeatedly evaded capture.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
6 June 2026
-
The aesthetic has seemingly evaded the controversy that’s erupted from Levinson’s eight-episode parable, which officially finished on Sunday.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Jacobs, with his long rifle and pack of dogs, was not the only predator in the Alleghenies—wolves and mountain lions still lurked in the forest.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Holly Madison quickly discovered that beneath Hollywood's glitz and glamour lurked a much darker reality.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Junior Grace Simmons escaped an early jam to set the tone for a low-scoring complete game from the circle, and Aniyah Bailey had a birthday to remember by anchoring the team’s contagious offensive showing with two doubles and five RBI in a 3-for-4 day.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
11 June 2026
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Better still, leave workers’ rates alone and expand the base to all forms of compensation and to investment income — the income that has escaped the program for nine decades.—
Teresa Ghilarducci,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
There’s a local doctor, Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), who has slipped into alcoholic despair since his wife left him, and Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a best-selling author and self-professed recovering liberal, whose rightward drift has led him to write an unreadable book about Wicks’s life.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Dec. 2025
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With two helpers beside her, Machado slipped through every control undetected, arriving at the coast just before midnight.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Last month, Simone also slid a photo of her and Dumas into a holiday Instagram post, which showed the two of them attending a University of Virginia football game together.—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Toward clinical use Early surgical evaluations show the device can be inserted through a minimally invasive skull incision and slid onto the brain’s surface without penetrating tissue or requiring wires that tether the implant to bone.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shirked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shirked. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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