JERKED Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

jerked

verb

past tense of jerk

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

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

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

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 jerked But in 1933, within a matter of days, they were jerked back into reality. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026 Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026 Suddenly, the tent jerked and wobbled. — Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026 In the summer of 2020, former Morgan Stanley trader Adam Crawley was wandering through Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, perfecting his qigong with a man called Master YanG, when a cold message on LinkedIn jerked him back to reality. — Phoebe Liu, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 My empty paper bowl jerked along the belt, stopping under each funnel. — Billy Perrigo, Time, 8 May 2026 The plane jerked to a stop as two trucks passed just feet in front of its nose. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026 We are jerked between past and present as his backstory gets filled in, one jogged memory at a time. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerked

Verb

Olstead yanked the handle to release his parachute and watched the red-white-and-blue fabric unfurl.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
In his view, a prosperous society was teetering on the edge of a meaningful shift toward communitarianism before being yanked back.

— Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of yanked

Verb

Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.

— Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 May 2026
My jaw twitched uncontrollably.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 May 2026

Definition of twitched

Verb

The offence that shook baseball in October appeared again, leading the Jays to their second-largest margin of victory this year in an 11-0 win against the Cleveland Guardians.

— Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Several heavy explosions shook Kuhestak, with fireballs that lighted up the night sky, according to security camera recordings carried by the semiofficial news agency Fars.

— David Rising, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of shook

Verb

Minutes later the finalists will fight to stay on the back of 2,000-pound animals with names like Man Hater and Buck Nasty for eight excruciating seconds, and then dodge the bull's hooves and horns when they're tossed to the ground.

— Christine Lennon, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026
Martina tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and two walks in the international finale.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of tossed

Verb

One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.

— David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.

— Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026