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
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
After Correa doubled leading off the first against Tanner Bibee, Alvarez followed by yanking a curveball from the right-hander 422 feet over the wall in right field to give the Astros a 2-0 lead that held up for nine innings.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
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
After Correa doubled leading off the first against Tanner Bibee, Alvarez followed by yanking a curveball from the right-hander 422 feet over the wall in right field to give the Astros a 2-0 lead that held up for nine innings.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yanking
Verb
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According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of seizures can include short-term confusion, staring spells, stiff muscles and jerking movements of the arms and legs.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
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Avoid jerking the floss or aggressive movements; instead, use smooth, gentle motions.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Some families are pulling back on travel as gas and groceries get more expensive worldwide.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
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Down 3-0, the notion of the Padres pulling this one out seemed outdated.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The best know how to play through grabbing or shoving of various degrees.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
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Wembanyama finished Game 6 with 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.—
Devon Henderson,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Here, American fighter planes, cargo ships and Japanese freighters have spent decades transforming into thriving artificial reefs, draped in coral and surrounded by twitching clouds of tropical fish.—
Dea Jusufi,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
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Curry’s body began convulsing and twitching with increasing severity, consistent with him sustaining a traumatic brain injury from being punched in the face, documents state.—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Its Duplicate Finder clears clutter, advanced renaming options make your files easy to track, and military-grade encryption protects everything from prying eyes.—
StackCommerce Team,
PC Magazine,
28 May 2026
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That doesn’t mean robbing Billy of his shot at prying open Homelander’s skull, but with only a symbolic solution to Trump’s authoritarian rise — love conquers all!—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
20 May 2026
Verb
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Testing the technology The new development builds on a 2023 study that used weak chemical bonds called mechanophores to prevent polymers from slowly tearing.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
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What is a better visual metaphor for being a woman in America than the sight of Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) tearing through the streets of Widow’s Bay, shrieking for help and finding none, while an out-of-shape freak stalks her and somehow manages to catch up to her?—
Jen Chaney,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
Verb
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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
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But that can’t account for comparable rises in nations that haven’t adopted such policies; average maternal age has also risen in countries around the world without tugging up gestational diabetes in the same way.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2026
Verb
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That pressure toward affordable innovation, extracting maximum value from a single ingredient across multiple form factors, is exactly what the global wellness market is demanding right now.—
Lisa Curtis,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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Researchers have long viewed those materials as promising for advanced quantum devices, but extracting the entanglement remained a challenge.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yanking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yanking. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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