1
as in jerking
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 pulling
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 grabbing
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
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Recent Examples of yanking
Counsell admitted postgame that yanking Imanaga might not have been the right move.
—
Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026
There are stories of major Nashville players yanking him off the street, keeping him drunk for days in hotels, then leaving Knoxville with stacks of new songs.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 1 June 2026
Since early May, companies that used the dry milk powder in their food products have been yanking those products on the concern they might be contaminated with salmonella.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 31 May 2026
Manny Machado got the Padres back on top by yanking a home run down the left field line and off the foul pole in the fourth while King proceeded to mow down the Nationals with rare efficiency.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
The lifeguard pursued me in a gray metal dinghy with a bullhorn, ordering me out of the water and yanking me up over the side of his boat.
—Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Essentially, yanking gravity away is another tool, just like temperature or pressure, that drug manufacturers can apply to improve their products.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Now, the Sentinel has learned, Florida is taking an inconsistent approach to cleaning up its mess, yanking the licenses of 47 nurses who attended schools cited by the FBI but allowing others to keep working, even when it has been alerted to their shortcomings.
—Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026
Surveillance video obtained by affiliate FOX 4 Dallas showed Ramirez yanking the father out of the driver's side of his car and forcefully trying to get inside.
—Alexandra Koch , Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026
There are stories of major Nashville players yanking him off the street, keeping him drunk for days in hotels, then leaving Knoxville with stacks of new songs.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 1 June 2026
Since early May, companies that used the dry milk powder in their food products have been yanking those products on the concern they might be contaminated with salmonella.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 31 May 2026
Manny Machado got the Padres back on top by yanking a home run down the left field line and off the foul pole in the fourth while King proceeded to mow down the Nationals with rare efficiency.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
The lifeguard pursued me in a gray metal dinghy with a bullhorn, ordering me out of the water and yanking me up over the side of his boat.
—Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Essentially, yanking gravity away is another tool, just like temperature or pressure, that drug manufacturers can apply to improve their products.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Now, the Sentinel has learned, Florida is taking an inconsistent approach to cleaning up its mess, yanking the licenses of 47 nurses who attended schools cited by the FBI but allowing others to keep working, even when it has been alerted to their shortcomings.
—Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026
Surveillance video obtained by affiliate FOX 4 Dallas showed Ramirez yanking the father out of the driver's side of his car and forcefully trying to get inside.
—Alexandra Koch , Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yanking
Verb
-
Physical tics can be as subtle as eye blinking, or involve jerking the arms, or stretching the neck.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
-
Avoid jerking the floss or aggressive movements; instead, use smooth, gentle motions.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
There’s a lot of repairing and resolution that needs to happen in this final episode, but luckily things start strong with Liz and Jo-Ellen pulling each other aside to talk things through on the beach.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
-
But Hong Kong has a way of pulling people back.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
The suspects asked if Apple Pay was accepted before grabbing a box of cash.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
-
Jose Alvarado also got physical in Game 4, grabbing one of Wembanyama's legs during a hard foul.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Leon Stetson was allegedly twitching, so officers moved him away from Carrie Stetson and started to render medical aid.—
Kellie Love,
Hartford Courant,
12 June 2026
-
Durrell alternates between slapstick domestic high jinks, wanderings through the lush natural landscape, and increasingly ambitious investigations of biological life, from tracking twitching bacteria in pond water to the mating habits of insects.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
The two have already had a few chats away from prying eyes and shared a few kisses.—
Allison DeGrushe,
StyleCaster,
10 June 2026
-
Even remakes and adaptations of centuries-old novels are kept away from prying eyes, forgetting that everybody can look up the ending of every story ever told on Wikipedia.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
9 June 2026
Verb
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That would be an enormous lift to Green Bay’s offense, as Kraft was having an All-Pro level season in 2025 before tearing his ACL.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
Lee, who relieved fans by hitting his old high notes on night one, sounded even stronger on night two, gleefully tearing into the most challenging corners of their catalog.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Vinicus followed up his stunning early strike with a series of nagging runs, tugging the Panamanians’ back line into awkward shapes.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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Jupiter's moons are in a chain of orbital resonances that could only have formed by the moons tugging gently on each other in passing over a long period of time, and crater records also suggest that Jupiter's moons are very, very old.—
Kiona N. Smith,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The tool summarizes conversations across Slack channels, extracting insights from messages, documents and files.—
Gene Marks,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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This device accomplishes the feat by extracting two distinct, valuable chemical products from the energy of a single photon of light.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yanking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yanking. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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