shirk

verb

ˈshərk How to pronounce shirk (audio)
Definition of shirknext
1
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
3
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
  1. avoid
  2. neglect
  3. lurk
  4. evade
  5. forget
  6. sneak
  7. escape
  8. slip
Verb
  • Rates actually continued to increase after the Society of Surgical Oncology adopted the guidelines in 2016, even though patients who received the biopsy were not more likely to survive or avoid recurrence.
    — Allessandra DiCorato, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Clapp said the firm focuses on avoiding highly leveraged companies and floating-rate debt, instead favoring investments with dependable cash flows to support clients over the long term.
    — Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of avoid
Verb
  • However, quick fixes made in the heat of the moment—such as delaying investments, trimming the wrong expenses or neglecting warning signs in their financial planning—can create bigger challenges down the road.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Prambanan, meanwhile, was abandoned and largely neglected until the start of the 20th century, with the first restoration in the 1930s, Chapman added.
    — Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of neglect
Verb
  • Former landlords lurked in bushes or on roofs or waited in cars outside our home.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The Spurs superstar lurks down low near the basket, allowing guards to pressure aggressively on the perimeter.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of lurk
Verb
  • Yet Iran’s regime has developed sophisticated networks to combat and evade sanctions.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Young rolled to his right, evading Aidan Hutchinson’s pressure, and threw a perfect pass along the sideline in which McMillan stretched his arms and hauled in the catch using all 6-foot-4 of him, his toes to his fingertips.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of evade
Verb
  • Most mega-bestsellers of eras past are forgotten, and even the award winners that make their way into academic syllabi fade into dusty bibliography.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The cheek-facing side, the chewing surface and the often-forgotten inside surface near the tongue or roof of the mouth.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of forget
Verb
  • Owen Wilson plays an overprotective dad who sneaks his 13-year-old son (Christian Convery) into the festival.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Jason Sudeikis does sneak in the final emotional moment, when Ted learns that Mae Green, the beloved owner of the local Crown & Anchor pub, apparently died while cheering on the team from the stands.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of sneak
Verb
  • However, the abduction goes wrong, and Jeong-yo is shot in his attempt to escape.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The Fasano Trancoso is an idyllic getaway for those looking to escape the madding crowds.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of escape
Verb
  • When OpenAI went from o1-preview to o1, its score on a competition math exam rose roughly 30 points, while its score on a broad general-knowledge test (Massive Multitask Language Understanding, or MMLU) slipped a point and a half.
    — Dhyey Mavani, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • His National Film Board of Canada film goes beyond numbers to humanize the Iranian-Canadian victims of Flight PS752 who have long slipped from news headlines, even as their families continue an uphill battle to hold Iran accountable.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of slip

Browse Nearby Words

shipyards
shirk
shirked
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Cite this Entry

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

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shirk

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