as in tugs
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in jerks
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
she stupidly yanked the wheel while I was driving
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in pulls
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 grabs
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 yanks
Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Maden takes thee wine bottle from him and the officers reach for his wrists but Brown resists and yanks his arms back, the video shows.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026
Leaphorn yanks the jug his way (despite being cuffed) and is able to put the filter packet down his pants.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
According to the footage, Falcinelli then moves toward the officer before the officer yanks him by the arm.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2026
Behind Jovan, the posse breaks into boardinghouses, yanks a miner from behind a grocery counter, shoots another dead in his home.
—Masha Hamilton, Longreads, 19 Feb. 2026
Judy yanks Mikey’s roller trunk out of the mud and leads him toward one of the nearby hiking trails.
—Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025
Thing rebels against his master and yanks out his clockwork heart.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
After deciding to take his family to a tourist town for some fun in the sun, a minor encounter with local bullies yanks the family into the crosshairs of an unhinged, blood-thirsty crime boss (Sharon Stone), who is determined to derail his relaxation.
—Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
Like a false note on an out-of-tune piano, a clunky verb, a sentence without rhythm, yanks the reader out the flow of the work.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Maden takes thee wine bottle from him and the officers reach for his wrists but Brown resists and yanks his arms back, the video shows.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026
Leaphorn yanks the jug his way (despite being cuffed) and is able to put the filter packet down his pants.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
According to the footage, Falcinelli then moves toward the officer before the officer yanks him by the arm.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2026
Behind Jovan, the posse breaks into boardinghouses, yanks a miner from behind a grocery counter, shoots another dead in his home.
—Masha Hamilton, Longreads, 19 Feb. 2026
Judy yanks Mikey’s roller trunk out of the mud and leads him toward one of the nearby hiking trails.
—Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025
Thing rebels against his master and yanks out his clockwork heart.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
After deciding to take his family to a tourist town for some fun in the sun, a minor encounter with local bullies yanks the family into the crosshairs of an unhinged, blood-thirsty crime boss (Sharon Stone), who is determined to derail his relaxation.
—Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yanks
Noun
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Some companies are designing tugs that could boost missions from their drop-off orbits to higher altitudes, potentially even to the Moon or beyond the Solar System.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2026
-
Gravity from huge superclusters tugs on the motions of galaxies across the universe, drawing them closer.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
4 May 2026
Verb
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In a viral video of the aftermath, the robot jerks back and forth to shake the glass off, showering yet more dangerous shards onto the sidewalk.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
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Ross’s video does not show if the SUV made contact with him, as the camera angle jerks up to the sky.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The pillow is filled with shredded memory foam gel that pulls heat away from your head, neck, and shoulders to prevent overheating.—
Sian Babish,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
Google search pulls from the same information as Google News, even though the two sites are technically separate.—
Michael Muchmore,
PC Magazine,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Kennedy then pins the snake’s head and grabs it by the mouth, avoiding any potential venomous bites.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
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Davis grabs two suitcases off the belt, pulls out a handheld computer that looks like an extra-rugged iPad, and scans the bar codes on the luggage tags.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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There are swooping close encounters with heavenly bodies, Lego blocks in antigravity mode and swarms of Separators, a sort of astro-anthropomorphic version of the tool that pries apart Lego bricks in real life.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Feb. 2026
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The show’s biggest laugh may come when Testa pries open Costanzo’s mouth and pronounces just how many performances of Norma Galas has left.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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If any of those are missing on the platform side, the acquisition will find the gap and pull on it until something tears.—
Louis Mosca,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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The Un Certain Regard best actor award went to Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for his turn in Rafiki Fariala’s Congo Boy, playing a teen talent in the Central African Republic who dreams of a career in music as a civil war tears his country apart.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
Verb
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The film unhurriedly lurches from one markedly similar fight scene to the next, with only Skeletor’s occasional injections of ripe innuendo to liven them up a bit.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
2 June 2026
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By the end, Noonan’s film stops feeling like a first date and starts to resemble the makings of a crime scene as his mood lurches toward something dangerous.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yanks. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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