YANKED Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

yanked

verb

past tense of yank

as in jerked

to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion she stupidly yanked the wheel while I was driving

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in pulled

to draw out by force or with effort yanked out a tooth with a pair of pliers

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in grabbed

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reattached

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 yanked With the wheels threatening to come off, Rays manager Kevin Cash yanked Seymour and put in Kevin Kelly. — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Ignoring that rule could get flood insurance coverage yanked for an entire community. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 Wi-Fi is not free on those services; T-Mobile used to comp at least an hour of connectivity for subscribers, but quietly yanked that benefit in April. — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026 The force of my fall on the rope yanked her upward and slammed her against the rock. — Daniel Duane, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Every belt buckle looks freshly yanked off the rack; every speck of signage resembles something painted 45 minutes before filming commenced that day. — Michael Phillips, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026 After Lopez says something to the officers, he is yanked to the ground and punched repeatedly. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 Although nine episodes were filmed, only two aired before A&E yanked the controversial and critically panned series, WXIX reported at the time. — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026 Two months later, Jimmy Kimmel Live was briefly yanked from the air over comments that host Jimmy Kimmel made about the killing of Charlie Kirk. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for yanked

Verb

During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Somewhere nearby, in a dark office, an eavesdropping oreja has just jerked to attention on his hard little chair.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of jerked

Verb

But Jamie Oleksiak pulled Vancouver within 5-3 just 31 seconds later.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Haynes, a 2024 third-round pick, made five starts this season, but the Seahawks pulled of a trade Tuesday for Indianapolis Colts perennial All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

Nantz tried to knock the ball from Watt, but hit his wrist hard on the football and immediately grabbed his hand.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
The former center grabbed headlines in March for commenting on a Rangers loss that coincided with the team’s Pride Night celebration.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of grabbed

Verb

The insurrection drew immediate and obvious parallels to the United States, which, during much of the past decade, has lurched alongside Brazil through a strange hall of mirrors.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
And there was a frenzy as one man, grimacing and sweating, lurched along pulling a truck with a rope.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of lurched

Verb

But after Vucic conceded defeat Sunday evening, ecstatic young revelers filled the streets of Belgrade and ripped down the cordons around the encampment known as Caciland.

— JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
But just two minutes later, LAFC’s Armindo Sieb ripped a shot off a counterattack and Bouanga chipped home the rebound for his 18th goal in 30 MLS matches this season.

— Greg Beacham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of ripped

Verb

The Oschin Center seeks to tackle that question head-on by displaying a genuine space potty, extracted from the Endeavour herself and displayed in a glass case.

— Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Raw inputs are extracted from the periphery, refined and assembled in the metropole, and sold back at a markup.

— NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of extracted

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Style

“Yanked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yanked. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of yanked

verb

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