Synonyms of jerking

jerking

verb

present participle of jerk

1

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

• yanking
• twitching
• pulling
• lurching
• tugging
• shaking
• grabbing
• bucking
• jolting
• hitching
• bumping
• tearing
• hoicking
• dragging
• ripping
• jiggling
• staggering
• jigging
• snatching
• jogging
• plucking
• jouncing
• lugging
• snapping (up)
• joggling
• wrenching
• wringing
• pitching
• tweaking
• wresting

2

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

• twitching
• fidgeting
• tossing
• squirming
• twisting
• fiddling
• wiggling
• trembling
• writhing
• shaking
• shivering
• jiggling
• jigging
• wriggling
• thrashing
• quivering
• shuddering
• fluttering
• threshing
• squiggling
• flitting
• quaking
• pacing
• twittering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• resting
• relaxing
• unwinding
• calming (down)
• stilling

3

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

• shaking
• shuddering
• vibrating
• quivering
• trembling
• shivering
• twitching
• swaying
• convulsing
• wobbling
• jiggling
• jolting
• quaking
• swinging
• agitating
• jouncing
• juddering
• throbbing
• flickering
• waving
• rocking
• fluttering
• joggling
• bucketing
• chattering
• quavering
• thrilling
• fluctuating
• pulsing
• oscillating
• wavering
• pulsating
• undulating
• palpitating
• doddering
• beating
• pitter-pattering
• pit-a-patting

Example Sentences

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