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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But they had been manipulated by homeowners and businesses, and used to block all kinds of new construction.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
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Editing concerns truly manipulating an image, making changes to particular areas, and adding content like text, shapes, or other images on top of the original.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Very quickly, Nate learns to use his affliction to his advantage via such methods as grabbing a blazing hot frying pan and pummeling his stunned opponent with it during a kitchen fight.—
Frank Scheck,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Mar. 2025
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Not unlike the human snowbirds, hundreds of actual birds use Port Aransas and neighboring Mustang Island as a popular resting place in their seasonal migratory patterns through the Central Flyway.—
Mariah Tyler,
Travel + Leisure,
8 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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Intuit, which offers products like TurboTax, Credit Karma, and QuickBooks, has made big gains in leveraging AI for customer-facing applications.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
4 Mar. 2025
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Hearst last year brought Siggi Hilmarsson, entrepreneur and founder of Siggi’s Yogurt, onto its board of directors, and plans to leverage his expertise in logistics for the e-commerce revamp, which is expected to take 18 months.—
Joelle Diderich,
WWD,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Surasak said they weren’t mistreated, and were fed pita bread and cheese, with a portion of meat once a week.—
Kocha Olarn,
CNN,
21 Feb. 2025
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During the first Trump administration in 2018, immigration and federal prison officials struck an agreement for 1,600 beds, according to the AP — an arrangement that led to allegations some detainees were mistreated.—
Brittany Gibson,
Axios,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Her defense attorney, Jose Baez, dropped the bombshell accusation that Casey had been abused by her father, implying that this explained her string of lies and her willingness to protect him.—
Aja Romano,
Vox,
4 Mar. 2025
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For too long, as alleged in the Complaint, the Board has abused its power, violating Florida law and its own governing documents while gaslighting members who invest millions in memberships and annual dues.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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