Synonyms of yank

yank 1 of 2

noun

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

• pull
• tug
• jerk
• wrench
• haul
• draw
• pluck
• grab
• tow
• drag
• hitch
• snatch
• twitch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• push
• thrust
• shove
• heave

yank

2 of 2

verb

ˈyaŋk 

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

• jerk
• pull
• twitch
• grab
• lurch
• tug
• shake
• buck
• jolt
• hitch
• hoick
• bump
• tear
• rip
• snatch
• drag
• pluck
• stagger
• jog
• jiggle
• lug
• jig
• joggle
• jounce
• tweak
• snap (up)
• wrench
• wring
• wrest
• pitch

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

• pull
• pry
• pluck
• extract
• remove
• uproot
• tear (out)
• prize
• take (out)
• wring
• wrest
• root (out)
• withdraw
• corkscrew
• mine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• insert
• install
• instill
• implant
• stuff
• ram
• jam
• cram
• wedge

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grab
• rip
• tear
• pull
• snatch
• wrench
• wrest
• pry
• seize
• cut (off)
• extract
• snap (up)
• sever
• force
• amputate
• nab
• uproot
• jerk
• nip
• prize
• lop (off)
• dissever
• root (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reattach

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of yank

Noun

Soy sauce, Maggi seasoning, daikon and shiitake mushroom yank pot roast into new territory. — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 24 Mar. 2026

Effectively, this turned the workspace into a yank buffer along with all your documents, and undoing any destructive editing operation thus became merely another cut and paste. — Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025

Verb

In a desperate attempt to avoid getting their fingers caught in the cookie jar, there is a pell-mell sprint toward finding a watermark removal app that can yank out the digital watermarks. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026

But this week, UFT President Michael Mulgrew threatened to yank his support, critiquing not the curriculum mandates themselves, but contradictory supplements and paperwork. — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026