SHIRK Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

shirk

verb

ˈshərk

Definition of shirk

as in to avoid

to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery you always try to shirk paying your fair share of the bill by claiming you "forgot" your wallet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to neglect

to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness a deadbeat who has been shirking his duty to his family for years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to lurk

to move about in a sly or secret manner given the multitude of auditoriums at the multiplex, it's not too difficult for underaged kids to shirk into R-rated movies

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 shirk During a livestream of a pre-pageant event, Itsaragrisil berated Miss Mexico’s Fátima Bosch, accusing her of shirking mandatory promotional responsibilities for the host country. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Aug. 2026 The Buñuelian skeptic in me also shirks at Fried’s approving references to Diderot’s petite église invisible, the small hidden church whose members—painters, critics, curators, patrons—are the vision-gifted serious pursuers of art history. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 Legal Aid argued that the state was shirking its obligation to keep her and her children safely housed. — Spencer Norris, ProPublica, 9 July 2026 But more than ever before, Nouel said, women are shirking the expectations of previous generations and considering all of their options to happiness, instead of staying in relationships that don't serve them. — Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for shirk

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shirk

Verb

Recently, A'ja Wilson charged aggressively toward a fan in the stands and avoided a suspension.

— Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
The group chose roads that would keep them moving, avoiding excessive stop-start riding at traffic lights and intersections wherever possible.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of avoid

Verb

The new Marvel series will see the hero grapple with his identity and humanity while evading a bounty hunter and reuniting with his son.

— Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Last year, a Houthi missile evaded Israel’s vaunted air defenses and impacted near Ben Gurion airport.

— Tim Lister, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of evade

Verb

But, the heartbreak would come sneaking around the bend over what might be the wildest 20 seconds of recent Big Ten memory, thanks to the insane final few minutes.

— Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
The basics include covering vents with mesh so embers can’t sneak in and ensuring every window and door is closed.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of sneak

Verb

As the comet rotates, fresh ice enters the sunlight and sublimates; the escaping gas then drags entrained dust particles away from the nucleus.

— Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
In July, two of OpenAI’s models escaped a testing environment and hacked the open-source AI platform Hugging Face.

— Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of escape

Verb

But a few months later, at her 18-month appointment, the standard graph that plotted a child’s weight against their age showed her weight slipping off the curve.

— Raj Panjabi, Time, 13 Oct. 2026
The United States is currently managing to get significant amounts of crude oil (if not refined product) through the strait, but only by providing costly military protection to tankers that slip past Iran’s guns with their transponders off.

— Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of slip

Browse Nearby Words

shipyards

shirk

shirked

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“Shirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shirk. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of shirk

verb

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