1
as in yanked
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
I jerked to one side to avoid getting hit jerked the leash to get the dog's attention
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in twitched
to make jerky or restless movements
you've got to quit jerking, or the barber will nick you by accident
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in shook
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
the car jerked with every shift of the gear
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of jerked
Aisha jerked and opened her eyes.
—
Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
The two stood nose-to-nose on the field when the Steelers player grabbed onto Chase’s facemask, jerked his head and appeared to punch him.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 16 Nov. 2025
Allen, who is 6 foot 5 and 237 pounds, jerked his head back in an effort to draw a roughing penalty on Bolton.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2025
Travis jerked open the door and slid on his butt down a wing that was on fire.
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
The president starts out by making a visit to Liberty Arena to play basketball with some school children, then gets jerked away when the crisis happens.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
If Hall jerked too violently, let alone tried to run, the wire would pull the trigger, firing the shotgun Kiritsis had pointed at the back of Hall’s head.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerked
Verb
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Officer Alex Millan then yanked open the passenger door of the suspects’ car; at the same time, the car drove forward over the curb.—
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Furious too that anyone could think the defender had deliberately yanked the striker’s hair.—
Verb
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Their usefulness remains an open question At the back of a conference hall at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, a humanoid robot twitched through a preprogrammed wave for a crowd of cell phone cameras—a classic scene of high spectacle and unclear utility at CES.—
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As the drugs flowed, Randolph's eyes were closed and his face twitched slightly.—
Verb
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And Tagovailoa shook off that early interception with a 9-yard scoring pass to Malik Washington — capping a ferocious seven-minute, 92-yard drive — and then a 38-yard TD strike to Jaylen Waddle.—
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Miller finished with 129 yards on 18 carries, while Jayden Maiava shook off a poor day throwing the ball with 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts.—
Verb
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The relentless Chacon lurched outside after her just as his car door opened and out popped their 6-year-old son, begging his dad to stop.—
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New year optimism was certainly in short supply inside Anfield as the mood lurched from restlessness to exasperation and then anger.—
Verb
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With a lightning-speed motion, Pedro tossed a cord around the foreman’s neck.—
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Someone else got that treasure but Keeney and his family went back for Game 7 and, at the end of batting practice, Brian Harper tossed Keeney his batting glove.—
Verb
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Earth shuddered with yet another wave of extinctions in this initial chill.—
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For much of last season, Atletico appeared set to seriously compete on all fronts, but their season shuddered to a stop in March with a series of disappointing defeats by Barcelona and Madrid across La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League.—
Verb
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Chicago pulled within 21-16 on D'Andre Swift's 5-yard run early in the fourth quarter.—
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The slightly oversized cut offers comfort for long travel days, while looking pulled-together.—
Verb
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Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.—
Cite this Entry
“Jerked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerked. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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