1
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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2
as in pulled
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 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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of yanked
The two police officers who responded found a short, stocky man in the backyard and an aluminum shed with its door yanked off.
—
Dan Barry, New York Times, 12 May 2026
During the scuffle, the victim’s gold chain was yanked from his neck.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Some developers yanked thousands of dollars of advertising in protest.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
Soto yanked a ground ball through the right side, for a single.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 2 May 2026
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia turned the 13-point deficit into a series-extending 16-point win, then trucked the Celtics in Game 6 on Thursday, leading by 20 when Joe Mazzulla yanked his starters with 10 minutes to play.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026
The food court was completely shuttered, and the Coca-Cola vending machines had been yanked from their alcoves.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Jackson’s music was also yanked from several radio stations in New Zealand, but eventually re-added.
—Amelia McDonell-Parry, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026
Lindor, who has been the subject of criticism for his play thus far, yanked a shot into the seats, scoring Marcus Semien and Carson Benge — one of the few positives from this night.
—James O'Connell, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2026
Dan Barry, New York Times, 12 May 2026
During the scuffle, the victim’s gold chain was yanked from his neck.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Some developers yanked thousands of dollars of advertising in protest.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
Soto yanked a ground ball through the right side, for a single.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 2 May 2026
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia turned the 13-point deficit into a series-extending 16-point win, then trucked the Celtics in Game 6 on Thursday, leading by 20 when Joe Mazzulla yanked his starters with 10 minutes to play.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026
The food court was completely shuttered, and the Coca-Cola vending machines had been yanked from their alcoves.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Jackson’s music was also yanked from several radio stations in New Zealand, but eventually re-added.
—Amelia McDonell-Parry, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026
Lindor, who has been the subject of criticism for his play thus far, yanked a shot into the seats, scoring Marcus Semien and Carson Benge — one of the few positives from this night.
—James O'Connell, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yanked
Verb
-
John jerked Maggie back by the elbow and stopped her from stepping into the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
-
My empty paper bowl jerked along the belt, stopping under each funnel.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The dogs, including newborn puppies, were pulled to safety by the Brandywine Valley SPCA rescue team.—
Kerri Corrado,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
The war pulled the Bureau away from these efforts, but once peace returned, Kline and his scientists had gone back to work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Young grabbed onto Elijah’s hair to try to hang onto the moment.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Becerra blunder The first ad that grabbed my attention was a quick-turn by San José Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan (still stuck in single-digit polling numbers), who jumped on Xavier Becerra’s first major mess-up.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Each assault count corresponds to a moment Mendoza Hernandez’s car lurched forward, about seven seconds apart.—
Scott Lebar. Story produced with AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2026
-
France lurched from republic to dictatorship to empire before cycling back through absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, Second Republic, and Second Empire.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
In what was billed an organizational coup, the Braves pried Chuck Tanner from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cox from the Jays.—
Mark Bradley for the AJC,
AJC.com,
9 May 2026
-
From there, one person held the blue heron still as the other carefully and forcefully pried the oyster's shells apart with a screwdriver.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
Meanwhile, male athletes get ripped to shreds 24/7 on television, radio, podcasts and social media without anyone questioning whether the existence of criticism itself is harmful to the sport.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
-
Ensure the item is in working condition and not damaged, broken, or ripped.—
Alexandra Kelly,
Martha Stewart,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Freida Frisaro,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The court ordered the state to hand over the data DLI extracted from the sample.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 May 2026
-
As before, to make the identifications, the team extracted DNA from archaeological samples and compared it with mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA from descendants.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yanked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yanked. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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