jerry-built 1 of 2

adjective

ˈjer-ē-ˌbilt How to pronounce jerry-built (audio)
Definition of jerry-builtnext
as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed my jerry-built wine racks may not look pretty, but they get the job done

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

jerry-built

2 of 2

verb

past tense of jerry-build
as in rebuilt

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-built
  1. clumsy
  2. rebuilt
  3. rough
  4. reconstructed
  5. rude
  6. retrofitted
  7. flawed
  8. devised
Adjective
  • One of the clumsiest parts of Klosterman’s book is his attempts at political punditry.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Feed your head Neagley gets off to a sluggish start, with a workmanlike, rather clumsy first episode largely spent establishing the main characters and central plot—and the writers lean a bit too hard on constant Chicago callbacks.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of clumsy
Verb
  • The previous Le Carl Gustaf hotel, owned by entrepreneur Jacques Laurent, went into decline before Hurricane Irma and was slated to be rebuilt as apartments, but locals said no way.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Walking through prewar Berlin, taking in its historic architecture, Susanna daydreams of her native New York, an ever-changing city where buildings are torn down and rebuilt in the blink of an eye.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebuilt
Adjective
  • Lemmo With this kind of kit, the Lemmo 3 should be up to the task of tackling steep inclines and all manner of rough terrain.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The controls and graphics are pretty rough on GameCube, though.
    — Verge Staff, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of rough
Verb
  • As filming was only allowed on Mondays under strict restrictions, Coppola’s team reconstructed some of the château’s key interiors, such as the Queen’s Grand Chamber and the Royal Opera, in nearby châteaux, such as Millemont.
    — Stephanie Sporn, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of seeing the game through screenshots or computer vision, the AI reconstructed its environment from server network messages and game data, then built its own tools to navigate and play.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of reconstructed
Adjective
  • Painfully aware of this, Shawn waited for one of the drunk old men to comment, heckle, make one of those incomprehensible jokes that drew rude laughter from adults.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • By the same token, French-style discretion can be interpreted by American visitors as inattentive and rude.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of rude
Verb
  • The fourth was to retrofit mobile storage systems in the park’s museum storage facility.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Why Timing Matters Governance cannot be retrofitted during due diligence.
    — Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of retrofitted
Adjective
  • De Brigard would be the first to tell you that his recollection of that day may be flawed.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
  • And there is precedent for such a return because Romo is not the first flawed NFL analyst who faced legal troubles and worked again.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of flawed
Verb
  • The results suggested that the idea of using messenger RNA to train the immune system to attack cancer cells — an approach first devised decades ago — was ripe for further drug development.
    — Allison DeAngelis, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Teams devised an unprecedented bit of spaceship surgery to replace the valve without draining the propellant and disassembling the spacecraft, steps that would have triggered a much longer delay.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of devised
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.

Browse Nearby Words

jerry-builds
jerry-built
jerry-rigged
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Cite this Entry

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

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