JERKS Synonyms: 202 Similar and Opposite Words

jerks 1 of 2

noun

plural of jerk

as in bastards

a person whose behavior is offensive to others his constant rudeness and insensitivity made everyone think he was a real jerk

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in tugs

the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force guided the rowboat with a jerk of the rope

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

jerks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of jerk

as in yanks

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

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as in twitches

to make jerky or restless movements you've got to quit jerking, or the barber will nick you by accident

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shakes

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements the car jerked with every shift of the gear

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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 jerks

Noun

Lee and his Burning co-writer Oh Jung-mi resist what might have been the first instinct of many filmmakers by refusing to make Ye-ji and Sang-woo overly patronizing rich jerks. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026 The Ars OpenForum is a place for readers to ask questions, compare notes, argue (without being jerks to each other), and go down all sorts of rabbit holes. — Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026 That screwed up the works / And not due to his sloppy hiring / Of a crew of incompetent jerks. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Something from this article might put me on some Ben Shapiro list, where a bunch of jerks literally will just call me ‘f****t’ or worse on my social media. — William Earl, Variety, 10 June 2026 To relitigate the matter on behalf of Musk only served to underline the conviction that all of these jerks deserved one another. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026 Here, witches are real — and so are jerks. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026 This was just the beginning of us young anarchists becoming judgmental jerks. — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2026 In the new sequel, Grace teams with her estranged younger sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), as they’re hunted by four elite families full of murderous jerks scrambling to become the High Seat of a Council that controls the world. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026

Verb

In a viral video of the aftermath, the robot jerks back and forth to shake the glass off, showering yet more dangerous shards onto the sidewalk. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026 Ross’s video does not show if the SUV made contact with him, as the camera angle jerks up to the sky. — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026 The video suddenly jerks away as the vehicle starts to move and shots can be heard. — Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026 The boy jerks his head as if to wake himself, turns around abruptly and looks the other way, even though there’s nothing special to see besides darkness and emptiness, which is where a living eye should never look. — Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025 Paul goes to shake her hand but jerks it back, then gives her a left-handed handshake. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerks

Noun

The gasoline shortage has become such a feature of daily life that even clowns at Moscow’s circus have cracked jokes about it.

— Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Because some of them are showing up to the game looking like clowns.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of clowns

Verb

Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.

— Angela Haupt, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.

— Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2025

Definition of twitches

Verb

The farm has also increased the parking and extended the season to 30 weeks in hopes of giving fans a longer period to enjoy not only the cinnamon rolls but also shakes, jellies and baked goods.

— Connie Ogle October 1, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter shakes hands with Purdue Northwest students after swearing them in as interns with the High Tech Crime Unit on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

— Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of shakes

Noun

Falling behind Gavin Kenneally, whose company makes industrial and military robot dogs, is working to find a new source of rare earth metals, of which China has nearly a global monopoly.

— Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026
Sheriff’s cadaver dogs, deputies with shovels and a backhoe were seen at work.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of dogs

Noun

All animal pull events were canceled on Saturday and Sunday for the safety of the animals and their equipment, and all tractor and truck pulls were canceled for Saturday.

— Staff Reports, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Ferguson Home specializes in the kinds of pulls and knobs that will have guests inquiring about the finishes rather than the furniture itself.

— Lori Keong, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of pulls

Verb

The alternative is a region that lurches from crisis to crisis, and from one extreme to another.

— DAN RESTREPO, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
With a cigarette dangling from her lips, ashes and curse words ever ready to fall, Angela lurches around the house critical of everything and everyone.

— Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026