as in pull
the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force
had to give the shoe a good yank to get it off
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to jerk
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
she stupidly yanked the wheel while I was driving
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to pull
to draw out by force or with effort
yanked out a tooth with a pair of pliers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to grab
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
grab the other one, and let's see if we can't yank these two grocery carriages apart
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of yank
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
No snagging Lower-quality beard combs often have the intolerable tendency to pull, yank or just rip out clumps of facial hair.
—
Bestreviews,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
26 June 2026
Keep the movement coming from your ribs, rotating, not by yanking your neck.
—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for yank
Noun
Connie Lansdown, the hysterectomy patient, watches the storm yank a man from a reclining chair and drag him down the hall.
—
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
No snagging Lower-quality beard combs often have the intolerable tendency to pull, yank or just rip out clumps of facial hair.
—
Bestreviews,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
The plan has morphed in the decade since its inception amid local opposition, and in 2024 proponents yanked a related ballot measure after opting to try and work with local regulators.
—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
26 June 2026
Keep the movement coming from your ribs, rotating, not by yanking your neck.
—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for yank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yank
Noun
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Even with the best investors, the gravitational pull is real.
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In 2020, Fort Worth restriped Hemphill Street from Hammond Street to Vickery Boulevard, from five lanes to three, and adding new bike lanes, bus pull-outs, and street parking.
Verb
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Watching their relationship devolve (never more so than when their sperm donor, a rakish, motorcycle-driving restaurant owner played by Mark Ruffalo, enters the scene) is most definitely a tear-jerking experience, as is the film’s final scene.
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Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper.
Verb
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It’s meant to be as is her ability to pluck him from the clouds and pin him to the table with her directness.
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But when they’re plucked from the garden and washed, some of the wax washes away.
Verb
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Video of the incident showed the professor grabbing and twisting the arm of the pro-Palestinian student.
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As police tried to handcuff Sever, the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office said Sever swung at troopers and forcefully grabbed at a trooper's duty weapon, which was secured in a holster.
Noun
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Libra September 23 – October 22 Ambitions rise while playful urges tug back.
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Those vessels are smaller commercial ships, including five smaller oil tankers, coastal ships and tugs, according to analysis of the vessels waiting.
Verb
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There is something cultish about that idea — the player who tends not to start but has the knack to appear later on with antennae twitching, ready to seize the day and alter the course of a match.
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Leon Stetson was allegedly twitching, so officers moved him away from Carrie Stetson and started to render medical aid.
Verb
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Once sufficient displays of submission had been extracted, would the bankrollers of the civic-education movement redirect their largesse back toward places like that?
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Those contracts call for Next Hydrogen to design and deliver an electrolyzer that extracts tritium from heavy water, a critical process for preparing fuel used in future fusion reactors.
Verb
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Pride flags are once again blowing in the breeze on Kings Highway in Haddonfield, New Jersey, less than 48 hours after police say a man ripped most of them down in the middle of the borough's busy business district.
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Sequined trousers resembled jeans, while ripped denim was finished with fine silver chains.
Cite this Entry
“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yank. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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