as in rough
marked by a series of sharp quick motions
filmed in a herky-jerky style that will give many moviegoers a headache
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Recent Examples of herky-jerky
Late in a herky-jerky first half, the backup guard’s emphatic drive and dunk helped cut into Penn State’s lead.
—
Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2025
Just in time for a herky-jerky square between your celestial ruler, Mercury, and rebellious Uranus on Feb. 10, expect unexpected tensions to rise in your personal and professional relationships as you are being called to create a healthy balance between both.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
Watching Eddie Redmayne do his herky-jerky dance, reaching out to the camera like a William Castle 3-D movie.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 17 June 2024
Hong Kong martial arts cinema legend Sammo Hung brought jiangshi to the screen with 1980’s Encounters of the Spooky Kind, a silly kung fu horror-comedy that features a hilarious set piece as Hung comically evades a hopping corpse’s herky-jerky attacks.
—James Grebey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
There’s a lot of herky-jerky stopping and starting, but when Jenn gets behind the wheel, things are relatively smooth.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 23 July 2024
The herky-jerky, on-and-off annual decision-making stops us from spending money efficiently in the way that the taxpayer expects.
—Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2015
Experts agree mid-drive bikes typically deliver a less herky-jerky ride, because the motor assist is integrated into the pedal crank itself.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Apr. 2024
While there are some harder throwers in the system, the Rangers have been impressed by the 25-year old’s fastball-slider combination, a herky-jerky delivery and a fastball that appears to be on a jet stream moving up to the batter’s eyes.
—Evan Grant, Dallas News, 31 May 2023
Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2025
Just in time for a herky-jerky square between your celestial ruler, Mercury, and rebellious Uranus on Feb. 10, expect unexpected tensions to rise in your personal and professional relationships as you are being called to create a healthy balance between both.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
Watching Eddie Redmayne do his herky-jerky dance, reaching out to the camera like a William Castle 3-D movie.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 17 June 2024
Hong Kong martial arts cinema legend Sammo Hung brought jiangshi to the screen with 1980’s Encounters of the Spooky Kind, a silly kung fu horror-comedy that features a hilarious set piece as Hung comically evades a hopping corpse’s herky-jerky attacks.
—James Grebey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
There’s a lot of herky-jerky stopping and starting, but when Jenn gets behind the wheel, things are relatively smooth.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 23 July 2024
The herky-jerky, on-and-off annual decision-making stops us from spending money efficiently in the way that the taxpayer expects.
—Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2015
Experts agree mid-drive bikes typically deliver a less herky-jerky ride, because the motor assist is integrated into the pedal crank itself.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Apr. 2024
While there are some harder throwers in the system, the Rangers have been impressed by the 25-year old’s fastball-slider combination, a herky-jerky delivery and a fastball that appears to be on a jet stream moving up to the batter’s eyes.
—Evan Grant, Dallas News, 31 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for herky-jerky
Adjective
-
Most holes look exactly the same, straightforward with skinny fairways and thick rough.—
Brody Miller,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Another man was bitten nearby, and a teenager received a small wound when a shark ran into her and grazed her leg, either with its teeth or its rough skin.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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From an uneven college career to constantly being doubted in the league, Hurts has had to silence haters with his wins and believe in himself when others didn’t.—
Kathleen Newman-Bremang,
refinery29.com,
10 Feb. 2025
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And the uneven division of the Keith and Vera plotlines makes Köln 75 a movie without a narrative center.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Since many thefts can be violent or involve sudden, jerky movements, Guo sought ad vice from Google’s Activity Recognition team, which worked on a somewhat similar feature available on Pixel smartphones for car crash detection.—
Reece Rogers,
WIRED,
25 Jan. 2025
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The video was mostly crisp, but movement was sometimes a bit jerky, and fast-moving subjects can get blurry.—
Simon Hill,
WIRED,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Billie Eilish even had a version of the style on Grammys night, wearing her black hair tied back in a ponytail but also rocking choppy face-framing side pieces.—
Hedy Phillips,
People.com,
6 Feb. 2025
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On the night of the crash, emergency crews battled icy, choppy waters, Chief Donnelly said.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The philanthropist and former news anchor, 55, shared her thoughts about getting off to a bumpy start in an Instagram post on Monday, Feb. 10.—
Abigail Adams,
People.com,
10 Feb. 2025
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Between the lines: The Fed's policy statement released on Wednesday hinted that recent indicators have pointed to a bumpy process in bringing inflation down.—
Axios,
Axios,
29 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near herky-jerky
Cite this Entry
“Herky-jerky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herky-jerky. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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