as in to play (on or upon)
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Recent Examples of jerk around
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 vehicles are tricked out with surround sound, too; and at one point on our joyride the bus was jerked around by the bus driver to simulate the sensation of a subway speeding underfoot.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 5 May 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
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
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 vehicles are tricked out with surround sound, too; and at one point on our joyride the bus was jerked around by the bus driver to simulate the sensation of a subway speeding underfoot.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 5 May 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk around
Verb
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Fast-forward to this month, when Paramount agreed to a $16 million settlement to move past Trump's claims that CBS's 60 Minutes deceptively manipulated a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
25 July 2025
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As for Tretter, Ferguson was more sympathetic despite whispers that the former Cleveland Browns guard from Akron Central High might have manipulated Howell’s rise to the NFLPA throne in exchange for a leadership role himself.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
Verb
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The participants didn’t use snorkels or fins but instead held their breath while diving deep into the ocean, often off La Jolla.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 July 2025
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How will Nashville's geology impact construction of the Music City Loop? To cut through the limestone and hard rock beneath Nashville, The Boring Company will use Prufrock tunnel boring machines (TBMs), which rely on rotating disc cutters and high thrust to excavate solid formations.—
Diana Leyva,
The Tennessean,
31 July 2025
Verb
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In Rolling Stone’s year-end issue for 1990, the first page had loads of stars giving their summary of the year, mostly pimping their latest career highlights.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
23 July 2025
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Gibson was also convicted of two counts of trafficking a person, pimping, pandering, keeping a place of prostitution, battery, possession of a firearm during commission of felony and other crimes, Fulton County media relations director Pallavi Bailey said.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Can Nigeria leverage its Olympic successes to secure a historic fifth crown?—
Sindiswa Mabunda,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
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Philippines Seeking Deal: Trump is set to meet at the White House with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, who is seeking to leverage his country’s close relationship with the United States to secure a more favorable trade deal.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 July 2025
Verb
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Women are often mistreated with aggressive surgical techniques that can be avoided.—
Nkem Osian,
Baltimore Sun,
23 July 2025
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In the short term, closing the cases would allow the local governments in question to continue allegedly mistreating minority communities, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.—
Jesse Coburn,
ProPublica,
18 July 2025
Verb
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At the time of her death, Sardinha was studying to become a counselor with the hope of working with women who had been abused, her mother told Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Leversen.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
25 July 2025
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According to prosecutors, Maxwell helped Jeffrey Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse minor girls from about 1994 to about 2004, including girls as young as 14 years old.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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