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
That modernity means Halo: Campaign Evolved occasionally feels a bit weird, like Halo Studios jerry-rigged a jet engine to a Subaru Outback.
—
Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
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
Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
-
Even young Oklahoma City required a clumsy postseason audition.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The driver and his accomplice then mounted a clumsy getaway that resulted in their scooter crashing about three blocks from the scene, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Heat has also now allowed more than 120 points in eight of the 10 games during this rough 2-8 stretch.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The Italian coast guard operated in the Libyan search and rescue area amid rough weather conditions, a spokesman said on Wednesday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Rain, April’s rude house guest, visits erratically and unannounced.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Some lawyers think a video shows a Texas judge being rude to an IT worker.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But the arc — first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump — was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Now a national policy that risks worsening care and eroding patient dignity is being justified by a single, flawed data point.—
Diego Schaps,
STAT,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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