jerk around

verb

Definition of jerk aroundnext
as in to play (on or upon)

Related Words

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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 jerk around Those afflicted would tremble and jerk around, lose the ability to stand or swallow, and, after many months of slow suffering, die. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 The view of his phone camera jerks around, points up to the sky and captures a glimpse of his masked face. — Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 13 Jan. 2026 Ciri gets a bit more agency and backbone, a welcome evolution for a character who has been jerked around by the plot, her allies and her enemies for too long. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025 And that’s not even taking into consideration the continual jerking around of Busy Philipps. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 July 2025 He was locked up to be a franchise player, and franchise players aren’t typically jerked around like that. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 18 June 2025 The shocking news out of this summer’s Olympic break-dancing competition in Paris wasn’t that a female Australian competitor had hopped and jerked around like Uma Thurman being revived from a drug coma in Pulp Fiction. — Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk around
  1. manipulate
  2. use
  3. pimp
  4. leverage
  5. mistreat
  6. abuse
Verb
  • Its tech helped investigators find that former Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter manipulated his play on behalf of bettors.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of filming hands of actual workers, young men with GoPro cameras strapped to their heads record themselves doing jobs while holding and manipulating what look like grippy robot claws.
    — Diaa Hadid, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of manipulate
Verb
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates US data centers used about 17 billion gallons of water for cooling in 2023, and that could double or even quadruple by 2028.
    — Adhum Carter Wolde-Lule, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • However, the available demonstration does not specify the training setup, how responsibilities the divided between the learning methods, or the precise control architecture used during execution.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of use
Verb
  • Norfleet, 26, was initially charged with pimping after bringing a 20-year-old woman to a hotel on the 1700 block of Embarcadero in Oakland.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The three were charged with crimes including pimping and pandering, money laundering, and tax and payroll fraud, the district attorney’s office said.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of pimp
Verb
  • FamilyMart's ad leverages Lady Gaga's non-conformist pop persona to appeal to an increasingly diverse workforce, a retail analyst explained to me.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Turnaround initiatives that include inventory clearance, refreshed designs, international expansion and leveraging Crocs' marketing momentum are starting to pay off.
    — Justin Zacks, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of leverage
Verb
  • Of course, parents should intervene when a coach is abusive or a child is genuinely being mistreated.
    — Jonathan Alpert OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Neighbors said the man began kicking and mistreating the dog before eventually luring the husky away from the yard with food.
    — Hunter Sowards, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of mistreat
Verb
  • The charges come with additional special allegations, around the victim’s vulnerability and that Tapia abused a trustworthy position.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Early American corporate charters, after all, were granted for limited public purposes and could be revoked when abused.
    — Christopher Marquis, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of abuse

Browse Nearby Words

jerk
jerk around
jerked
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Cite this Entry

“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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