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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Decades earlier, Loftus had demonstrated that people’s memories of visual details could be manipulated by posing questions that contained misinformation.—
Bernice Andrews,
Scientific American,
8 Apr. 2025
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While Ticketmaster denies using surge pricing or dynamic algorithms to manipulate prices, fans like Jessica Chou question if their early participation in presales might be contributing to higher initial costs.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors said Mahdi constantly used brutality to solve his problems.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2025
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The team used surrogate dogs -- since adopted through the humane society -- to help give birth to the dire wolves, which are white.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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There was a time when pimping your coffee was the height of cool.—
Morgan Fargo,
Vogue,
24 Mar. 2025
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The deal dropped additional charges of pimping, money laundering and violating a protection order from his case.—
Lauren Penington,
The Denver Post,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The lawsuit accuses the administration of leveraging the funds to compel speech restrictions on campus and forcing the school to surrender its academic independence.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2025
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Similarly, ensure a mix of asset and non-asset providers to leverage as the market tightens.—
Andre Claudio,
Sourcing Journal,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But Lively did believe she had been harassed and mistreated on set, the filing claims, making the defamation accusation false.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
20 Mar. 2025
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In a series of posts on X Monday (March 17), the star clapped back at critics of her new music before calling out the way Black women have historically been mistreated.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Authorities subsequently found that the boy and Ruby's 10-year-old daughter had been seriously abused.—
Liam Quinn,
People.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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In May 2023, Attorney General Kwame Raoul published a 696-page report, which found that over about seven decades, at least 1,997 children have been abused by 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers across the state’s dioceses.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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