as in to play (on or upon)
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Recent Examples of jerk around
The shocking news out of this summer’s Olympic break-dancing competition in Paris wasn’t that a female Australian competitor had hopped and jerked around like Uma Thurman being revived from a drug coma in Pulp Fiction.
—
Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons Category: Starter to star After a year where the former lottery pick was jerked around in regard to minutes, role, and even on-court responsibilities, Ivey is now set to enter his third year, finally with some stability attached to his name.
—Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
The camera jerks around to emphasize the Captain’s growing panic.
—Terry Nguyen, Vulture, 19 May 2024
For a population like Gaza’s, there’s not enough food, people have been jerked around from place to place.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
The guy in the center seat where the stringer was tied off noticed it was being jerked around.
—Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016
The design stopped us from being jerked around when dogs were pulling, and the padded handle was comfortable to grip, as well.
—Camryn Rabideau, Peoplemag, 16 Jan. 2024
One senses that these men are accustomed to being jerked around by the state.
—Alejandro Chacoff, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023
Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons Category: Starter to star After a year where the former lottery pick was jerked around in regard to minutes, role, and even on-court responsibilities, Ivey is now set to enter his third year, finally with some stability attached to his name.
—Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
The camera jerks around to emphasize the Captain’s growing panic.
—Terry Nguyen, Vulture, 19 May 2024
For a population like Gaza’s, there’s not enough food, people have been jerked around from place to place.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
The guy in the center seat where the stringer was tied off noticed it was being jerked around.
—Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016
The design stopped us from being jerked around when dogs were pulling, and the padded handle was comfortable to grip, as well.
—Camryn Rabideau, Peoplemag, 16 Jan. 2024
One senses that these men are accustomed to being jerked around by the state.
—Alejandro Chacoff, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk around
Verb
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They are suspected of illegally manipulating ski suits to enhance athlete performance, according to statements from the FIS.—
Manuela López Restrepo,
NPR,
14 Mar. 2025
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Mid-20th century, metafiction was all about producing a sort of free zone of uncertainty in the reader about whether they themselves might be caught within a story or the product of some author, or being manipulated by some storyteller at a higher ontological plane, a different plane of being.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Through a careful expedition using cutting-edge technology, gold has been drawn from the site for the first time in years and will be available via public auction through the sale of the coins.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
20 Mar. 2025
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When in doubt, navigate directly to the website using an address rather than clicking through from another site.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Of the five, Walton has been accused of involvement in pimping before.—
Nate Gartrell,
The Mercury News,
30 July 2024
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Vana also accused Shipps of pimping her out to a colleague across state lines.—
Sara Coello,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
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These groups, Miller explained, exploit security gaps, leveraging vulnerabilities to move laterally, escalate privileges, exfiltrate sensitive data and ultimately deploy their payloads.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
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Also important is broadening how our content is made available and distributed to the broadest range possible, leveraging digital technology.—
Edward Felsenthal,
TIME,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Black models confided in her, sharing stories of their hair being damaged, mistreated, or outright ignored by stylists unfamiliar with their textures.—
Lyric Christian,
Essence,
12 Mar. 2025
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Both Kansas City officials and KC Pet Project agree that the city’s current chapter on animal control in the city code has flaws that impede the ability of animal-control officers to go onto private property without permission to impound vicious dogs and animals that are being mistreated.—
Mike Hendricks,
Kansas City Star,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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After killing the nun (Jennifer Ehle) who was her primary abuser within an entire system designed to abuse, Teonna went on the run.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2025
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Google has updated its affiliate link policy following allegations that coupon-clipping website Honey was abusing the program.—
Emily Forlini,
PCMAG,
13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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