JERKING Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

jerking

verb

present participle of jerk

as in yanking

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

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as in twitching

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

as in shaking

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements the car jerked with every shift of the gear

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of jerking And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality. — Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026 Even after a bailiff woke him up, Martin slumped over in his wheelchair, inside a courtroom bullpen, occasionally jerking and opening his eyes. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026 The production’s winking tone blunts some of the original’s tear-jerking climax, yet its intact happy ending offers a surprisingly comforting vision of survival in an age of constant crises. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 Henry drove off and sped up to 45 mph before jerking the car. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Our step-by-step guide shows you how to make quick work of dicing the tear-jerking bulb. — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2026 Stuttering lines, on the left, jerking up and down, denote the rattle of guns; on the right, the lines are all but flat, as silence descends. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 Logan Howlett, got a tear-jerking send-off in James Mangold’s Logan. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026 Nighttime in the Okefenokee is filled with a wild cacophony — the choruses of pig frogs, hooting owls, crickets and sometimes the deep, nerve-jerking bellowing of bull alligators. — Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 25 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerking

Verb

Shortly after, the video shows the same officer yanking him to the ground, punching and kicking him.

— Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Zabransky was the first person to reach Rabb in the end zone, yanking him into the air for a bear hug.

— Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of yanking

Verb

This is not easy for Robin (Griffin), who, judging by his nervously twitching legs and tendency to info-dump on interlocutors, finds ordinary interactions very stressful.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Green said his symptoms began when his feet started twitching in his sleep.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026

Definition of twitching

Verb

Darren Gold, who is now board president, said Gonzales-Torres falsely accused him of shaking her, prompting a city investigation.

— Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Traders woke up in a cheerful mood today, shaking off the riots in France and the rising price of oil.

— Jim Edwards, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of shaking

Verb

One of the most fun parts of writing comedy is coming up with alt after alt after alt for a joke, pulling ever-increasingly stupid punch lines out of one’s ass.

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
The deputy made a U-turn and saw the man, who deputies say is 49-year-old Brenton Burke, kneeling under the truck’s steering column and pulling wires, the arrest report states.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulling

Verb

Weaving every movement together are barely perceptible particles that make your ears blink and double-take—bubbles, dolphin gurgles, memory chips fidgeting, sprites hiccuping.

— Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
Following this concern, 55% of parents said their top concern was their child’s ability to complete multistep tasks such as homework while 45% of parents cited fidgeting.

— Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of fidgeting

Verb

There’s the studio version, which has some really interesting production, with Meg’s shuddering percussion that eventually grates and distracts, and Jack’s very chunky guitar.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge.

— Nick Ayres DeMasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026

Definition of shuddering

Verb

After a handful of supremely mellow releases that blended lurching ’90s breakbeats with wintry, Mazzy Star-like songwriting, their third album dives into a vat of mercurial distortion and slippery, all-consuming bass.

— Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
Irvine, who was commuting home from his job as a technician in a dark blue Volkswagen hatchback, came to an abrupt stop in free-flowing traffic, lurching to the far-right lane.

— Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of lurching

Verb

The video showed the employee tossing the cash onto the front counter before the suspect grabbed the money and stuffed it into his pocket.

— Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Arrange in a single layer and roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and browned, 15–25 minutes.

— Rick Martinez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026