1
as in swaying
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions
the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in staggering
to move forward while swaying from side to side
dressed in his zombie costume, the boy lurched down the street in his quest for Halloween candy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lurching
The midterm blue wave backlash is gathering, with the generic ballot lurching in the Democrats' favor and Trump’s popularity cratering.
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Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
After 40 days, the longest government shutdown in American history finally appears to be lurching toward an end.
—Nik Popli, Time, 10 Nov. 2025
The old theater, which opened in 1925, seemed to be lurching toward its grave.
—Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Nov. 2025
This can result in a kind of emotional whiplash, with the tone of the videos lurching between joy and devastation.
—Lindsay Lowe, Parents, 8 Nov. 2025
Back then, Newcastle’s thin squad staggered between results, lurching from challenging the best sides in the league to befuddling losses to inferior squads.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
The administration’s lurching one way and another with tariffs is another example.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 20 Sep. 2025
The title track opens the affair by lurching and creeping forward for ten minutes with odd, off-putting lyrics.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lurching
Verb
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And some people kept watching and swaying and moving.—
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Some people kept watching and swaying and moving.—
Verb
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Cheng likes to build muni bond ladders, which means staggering the maturity dates of multiple bonds.—
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To get through the season and the playoffs, staggering the minutes of Green and Horford is logical, even with Quintin Post picking up some center minutes.—
Verb
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In the first slide, a selfie captured Bieber rocking beach waves and a plunging black tank top, while the second image featured her ankle adorned with a gold chain and charm of her son's name next to Jack's tiny foot.—
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The collection is a bit of a 180° for the athlete, who's known for rocking baggier getups while flying down a hill — or several feet in the air — when competing in his specialized slope style, big air and big-mountain skiing.—
Verb
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Go on a street food tour Street food tours are great things to do in Sicily and a fabulous alternative to hours of shuffling through museums.—
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It's designed to offer a satisfying and calming shuffling motion, guided by a strong magnet and a seamless sliding track on the inside.—
Verb
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Structure information summary Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly resistant to earthquake shaking, though some vulnerable structures exist.—
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While Bryant was able to come from behind, the Lady Hornets had a hard time shaking off the Lady Warriors.—
Verb
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The debate over lasting solutions reveals the complexity of how criminal organizations have grown so powerful, weaving themselves into nearly every layer of Brazilian society over time.—
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What results is a familiar historical drama, weaving together many various characters in the buildup to the climactic courtroom showdown.—
Cite this Entry
“Lurching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lurching. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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