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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The 18-episode season made Laura’s death feel almost world-historic, peeling back the layers to reveal a grand, mythological evil manipulating events into shape.—
K. Austin Collins,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2025
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The content is manipulated to appeal to potential lone-wolf recruits in the U.S. to start retribution against Israel's supporters in the U.S., particularly the Jewish community.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Over the past few months, Mace has filed a bill seeking to ban transgender women from using women's bathrooms at the U.S. Capitol.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
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Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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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
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During the trial, charges of pimping a minor older than 17, human trafficking, pimping and pandering were dismissed along with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a gun.—
City News Service,
Orange County Register,
8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Ann Scott Tyson/The Christian Science Monitor Meanwhile, Mr. Inagaki, the rickshaw puller, is leveraging his Mandarin and making connections on Chinese apps.—
Ann Scott Tyson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
7 Feb. 2025
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The filing outlines the company's strategy to leverage its management team's experience to identify and acquire a target business that can benefit from being publicly traded.—
Quartz Intelligence Newsroom,
Quartz,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In some cases, the animals were mistreated and have found a sanctuary at the rescue.—
Dana Cadey,
The Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2025
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Kingsley’s political views thus display a tension between his desire to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and mistreated and his racist tendency to blame groups for their own poor conditions.—
Ben Woollard,
JSTOR Daily,
29 Jan. 2025
Verb
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President Andrew Jackson famously abused this authority, and this led to the creation of the Civil Service Act.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
6 Feb. 2025
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Today, Hildebrandt is behind bars after pleading guilty to abusing the children of family vlogger and business partner Ruby Franke, who also pleaded guilty to the same crimes and is currently in prison.—
Christine Pelisek,
People.com,
6 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near jerk around
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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