SHIRKING Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

shirking

verb

present participle of shirk

as in avoiding

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in neglecting

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

as in sneaking

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

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 shirking In the meantime, each of the three companies is shirking blame. —

Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 5 June 2026 And Macy’s is still doing those in New York City this summer, so nobody’s shirking on the fireworks. —

Paige Darrah, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 May 2026 Paying influencers is legal, though state law requires both campaigns and the creators to disclose compensation, which the Becerra and Steyer campaigns have each accused the other of shirking in recent ethics complaints. —

Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026 Hong Kong — China’s top spy agency has come out of the shadows to warn that its young people are being duped by foreign forces into shirking hard work and prioritizing their individual emotions at the expense of national development. —

Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 7 May 2026 Without shirking responsibility, the 52-year-old explained that her judgment had been clouded in part by other circumstances in her life. —

Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026 The book opened a window on the lives of Silicon Valley’s Tech Bro culture, one that valued fierce competition, shirking of government rules and business growth above all else. —

Paul Flahive, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026 The three central male characters — Mike, Lou, and Orman — all converge on the archetype of the lone wolf, a dubious label the collaboration-shirking Lou has taken on in his precinct, and one his colleagues are decidedly over. —

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026 By shirking their duty to maintain order and protect agents, these local officials endanger lives and undermine national security. —

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shirking

Verb

The drone filmed from the north and south ends of the channel and shot an FWC boat travelling around the same speed that Pino’s Robalo was going on the day of the crash and the same path before avoiding the piling at the last second.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026
As a result, there has been growing interest in treatments that can deliver powerful cancer medicines more precisely while avoiding some of the limitations of traditional chemotherapy.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026