jerk around

verb

jerked around; jerking around; jerks around
Synonyms of jerk aroundnext

transitive verb

: to treat badly especially by being underhanded or inconsistent

Examples of jerk around in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Those afflicted would tremble and jerk around, lose the ability to stand or swallow, and, after many months of slow suffering, die. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 The view of his phone camera jerks around, points up to the sky and captures a glimpse of his masked face. — Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 13 Jan. 2026 Are the typesetters’ heads jerking around? — Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025 Ciri gets a bit more agency and backbone, a welcome evolution for a character who has been jerked around by the plot, her allies and her enemies for too long. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025 And that’s not even taking into consideration the continual jerking around of Busy Philipps. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 July 2025 He was locked up to be a franchise player, and franchise players aren’t typically jerked around like that. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 18 June 2025 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

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jerk around was in 1932

Rhymes for jerk around

See All Rhymes for jerk around

Browse Nearby Words

jerk
jerk around
jerker
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Cite this Entry

“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerk%20around. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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