as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a jerry-rigged switch to keep the machine in operation until it can be repaired
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Recent Examples of jerry-rigged
Lenovo's software has also matured, so switching between games feels more like playing a game console and less like a laptop jerry-rigged into a handheld.
—
Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 5 Sep. 2025
This repurposing reflects how biological evolution is jerry-rigged, making use of what’s available.
—Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025
Amanda, introduced only briefly in the first movie, takes center stage as she and a group of troubled (and particularly shouty) people try to fight their way out of a house jerry-rigged with all manner of nasty devices.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2025
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 5 Sep. 2025
This repurposing reflects how biological evolution is jerry-rigged, making use of what’s available.
—Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025
Amanda, introduced only briefly in the first movie, takes center stage as she and a group of troubled (and particularly shouty) people try to fight their way out of a house jerry-rigged with all manner of nasty devices.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2025
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
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In the afterglow of the finale, outlets hit publish on SEO-bait around who did what, and clumsy think pieces like this one followed.—
Thomas Page,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
-
His paranoia, played with clumsy charm by a mustachioed and bleary-eyed Leonardo DiCaprio, is half-cocked and somewhat comical.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The two firms are also considering building an oil pipeline and storage facility in Oman to help boost Iraq’s crude exports.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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That prompted a frustrated Webex engineer, Eric Yuan, to quit and start Zoom, which is why WebEx looks like a crude prototype of what Zoom became.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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After a rough outing Thursday, though, Stewart will pitch again for OKC on Sunday.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
20 Sep. 2025
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Then there was a rough outing Week 2 at Indianapolis in which he and Strnad each were exposed in coverage and targeted by a Colts offense that racked up 447 yards and operated extensively through running back Jonathan Taylor and tight end Tyler Warren.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These particular coffee-shop customers picked the wrong day to be rude, though.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, the Lions give a rude welcome back to Ben Johnson, while the 49ers run over the Saints.—
Vic Tafur,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Without curiosity about how AI reaches its results, employees may blindly accept answers that are flawed.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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Troublingly, Cal Fire’s flawed models systematically underestimate logging emissions and overestimate regrowth, conveniently ignoring how climate change hamstrings regrowth and fuels wildfires that release yet more emissions.—
John P. O’Brien,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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