1
as in avoids
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
you always try to shirk paying your fair share of the bill by claiming you "forgot" your wallet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in neglects
to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness
a deadbeat who has been shirking his duty to his family for years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lurks
to move about in a sly or secret manner
given the multitude of auditoriums at the multiplex, it's not too difficult for underaged kids to shirk into R-rated movies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shirks
Nick, desperate to return to the present, shirks the doting parents and brother who long to comfort him.
—
Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shirks
Verb
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The process avoids the long turnaround times seen in conventional microbiological analysis.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Apr. 2026
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While the family largely avoids the spotlight, Sam’s daughter, Alice Walton, and two of his son Jim’s children, Tom and Steuart Walton, remain active and public-facing in Arkansas.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Above, Akerman neglects to mention another theft from around this time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
31 Mar. 2026
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But that lower average neglects the fact that fire private IIs have a higher floor salary, at $65,300, and drivers make more than the PII ceiling within the police department, at $79,000.—
Lucas Finton,
Memphis Commercial Appeal,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Perhaps now, the couple will question everything while also trying to protect their children from the evil that lurks.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
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What’s playing on that magical cranial monitor, however, is one half of the shadow self that lurks behind all of Yes‘ provocations.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But even if Booker’s appearance evades the FCC’s scrutiny, the commission is closely watching TV talk programs, with The View in particular a subject of interest.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
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But how does one set out to write a biography about the creation of an author who not only can’t be reached, but actively evades the spotlight?—
Costa Beavin Pappas,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ortiz sneaks field recordings and samples into these songs, too—each adding texture to the universe of her songs and evoking the wider world that exists just outside the frame of her narration.—
Marissa Lorusso,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
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But some sunlight still sneaks through Earth’s atmosphere, bends around the planet and lands on the moon.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Her grim discovery ensures Toya will meet the same fate, and in the last episode, as the murderer escapes through the window, Hole discovers the killer’s final victim in the bathroom, tied by her neck to the shower.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
27 Mar. 2026
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At the best Iceland Airbnbs, nature is the number one amenity, but city escapes offer plenty of perks too.—
Erika Owen,
Architectural Digest,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After one of Javadi's patients slips through the cracks, Dana calls in an old friend with experience running a low-tech ER.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
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The Pleiades are at their most spectacular from October to March, after which the cluster slips ever lower in the spring sky, appearing closer to the horizon with each passing night.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Hurts Like Hell is Cornfield’s twangiest album yet, thanks in large part to the pedal steel that slinks through its songs, handled like quicksilver by Adam Brisbin.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
31 Mar. 2026
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Anne slinks off with her husband.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shirks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shirks. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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