jars 1 of 2

noun

plural of jar
1
as in collisions
a forceful coming together of two things this padded case should protect your laptop from the jars normally experienced while traveling

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in surprises
something that makes a strong impression because it is so unexpected the flow of her day was interrupted with the jar of an unexpected crisis

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in scratches
a harsh grating sound the jar of a stuck car door

Synonyms & Similar Words

jars

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of jar
1
as in quarrels
to express different opinions about something often angrily those two coworkers have such incompatible personalities that it's no wonder they constantly jar

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clashes
to be out of harmony or agreement usually noticeably the bright orange of the walls jars with the light pastels of the furnishings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 jars
Noun
Paddywax Hand-Painted Ceramic Candle Candles that come in especially nice vessels are essentially two gifts in one for anyone who loves to reuse the jars. — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2026 Mini bar options are also decidedly high spec, including jars of cashews and pretty little boxes of Lindt chocolates. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 Canned seafood comes in cans, pouches and glass jars, but Dudash says the packaging itself doesn’t appear to make a meaningful difference nutritionally. — Jo Ann Liguori, Flow Space, 5 Oct. 2026 Along with tip jars placed beside cash registers, customers are prompted to leave a 5% to 20% gratuity on their restaurant bills, but also on their fast-food takeout and coffees to-go when paying via card machines. — CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026 Each rack features thick steel frames to keep bottles and jars in place and strong magnets to ensure everything remains stable. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026 All told, the McCauleys stole at least $12 million, getting creative in hiding cash — by stuffing it into jars of spaghetti sauce, for example. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026 Anderson’s $38 jars of pickles raised $500,000 for the California Wildlife Center. — Marc Malkin, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026 Start collecting jars from thrift stores, and your homemade ferments will be good enough to gift. — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
But this film’s logic lies in the edit, starting and ending with a stop-start stutter motif that jars us into this world of a small Oklahoma town, where a bluegrass band jams in a restaurant parking lot. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 There is one particular scene that jars with those who know Hamed best. — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026 Mercury retrograde meeting Uranus and Neptune jars you out of certainty. — Usa Today, USA Today, 19 Nov. 2025 That, in turn, jars an earlier memory of happier days in the same car, giddily documenting on camcorder their initial move to New Orleans. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025 Against all of this allegedly heady stuff, the score—by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—intentionally jars us from encroaching drowsiness with chortling woodwinds and shardlike piano chords that are the aural equivalent of jagged Plexiglass off-cuts. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jars
  1. collisions
  2. surprises
  3. scratches
  4. quarrels
  5. clashes
  6. thumps
  7. shocks
  8. scrapes
Noun
  • Nearly 300 people are killed every year in traffic crashes in the city, with speed serving as the leading factor in the collisions.
    — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Now researchers analyzing data from those collisions have seen an unexpected signal that offers new clues about how the cosmic transition happened eons ago.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of collisions
Noun
  • Thursday is The New York Times’s favorite day of the week to publish crosswords with twists, surprises or extra layers of trickery to puzzle over.
    — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Don’t avoid uncomfortable realities; addressing them head-on will spare you unwelcome surprises later.
    — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of surprises
Noun
  • According to the warrant affidavit, Flagge said the girl appeared fine but had some scratches on her.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Rabies is a nearly 100% fatal zoonotic virus spread by bites, scratches and oral secretions (saliva) from infected animals.
    — Eva Flowe October 1, Charlotte Observer, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of scratches
Verb
  • The three bills also are not the first headline-grabbing action from Schroer, who serves as chair of the Senate’s hard-right Freedom Caucus, which frequently quarrels with GOP leadership.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026
Definition of quarrels
Verb
  • Paul clashes with Neeley, Matthews, and Draper before storming out of the party, only to return and continue arguing with the group.
    — Krystie Lee Yandoli, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
  • According to The Ankler, the film’s plot centers on a Black reenactor at a historical slave plantation museum who clashes with the Midwest town’s racist mayor, played by Parker.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of clashes
Noun
  • The lower-vocal harmony struggles to stand out any time the deeper bass thumps.
    — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Agents yelled from every direction, and the thumps of a news helicopter overhead were deafening.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
Definition of thumps
Noun
  • After the Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep interest rates steady in July, Warsh promised to keep an eye on the markets and address price shocks when necessary.
    — Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The generally solid job market has helped consumers spend, although many economists remain surprised by how well shoppers have weathered a series of shocks, including higher gas prices, inflation, political uncertainty and growing fears about AI.
    — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of shocks
Noun
  • Memory is not so much a flow, sometimes, as a series of bumps and scrapes.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The visits mainly addressed dehydration, minor cuts and scrapes and pre-existing medical conditions.
    — Ruby Grisin, Louisville Courier Journal, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of scrapes

Browse Nearby Words

jarring
jars
jaundice
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jars. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All