Synonyms of shirks

shirks

verb

present tense third-person singular of shirk

1

as in avoids

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

• avoids
• evades
• escapes
• shuns
• eschews
• eludes
• dodges
• deflects
• prevents
• shakes
• eliminates
• shuffles (out of)
• finesses
• circumvents
• fights shy of
• steers clear of
• averts
• precludes
• gets around
• obviates
• weasels (out of)
• ducks
• excludes
• scapes
• misses
• stays clear of
• thwarts
• keeps clear of
• diverts
• parries
• debars
• rules out
• wards (off)
• excepts
• bans
• outwits
• bypasses
• overreaches
• frustrates
• outsmarts
• foils
• outfoxes
• bars
• skirts
• foxes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• seeks
• accepts
• embraces
• pursues
• welcomes
• incurs
• catches
• courts
• contracts

2

as in neglects

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

• neglects
• forgets
• slacks (off)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• remembers
• performs
• does
• attends (to)
• executes
• carries out
• achieves
• accomplishes
• maintains
• keeps up

3

as in lurks

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

• lurks
• sneaks
• slips
• slinks
• steals
• crawls
• slides
• skulks
• tiptoes
• snakes
• mooches
• creeps
• pussyfoots
• edges
• inches
• mouses
• worms
• ghosts
• pads

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shirks

Mbappe is right that pressing is a team effort, and one player who never shirks that effort is Valverde, whose endeavour was rewarded with surely the easiest goal of his career. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

The Buñuelian skeptic in me also shirks at Fried’s approving references to Diderot’s petite église invisible, the small hidden church whose members—painters, critics, curators, patrons—are the vision-gifted serious pursuers of art history. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 2026

Nick, desperate to return to the present, shirks the doting parents and brother who long to comfort him. — Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 17 June 2026