jerk

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. twist, tweak, pull, snap; start, twitch, jitter, jump. —n. start, jump, twitch; spasm; pull, snap; slang, nitwit, fool, nobody. See excitability, traction, folly.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A spasmodic movement]

Syn. twitch, tic, shrug, wiggle, shake, quiver, flick, snap, yank, tug, wrench, lurch, jolt, jump, jounce, jiggle; see also bump 1 .

2. [*A contemptible person]

Syn. brute, rat*, fool, chump*; see fool 1 , rascal .

v.

1. [To undergo a spasm]

Syn. twitch, shrug, have a convulsion, wriggle, shake, quake, quiver, shiver, wiggle, jiggle, dance; see also shake 1 , twitch 2 .

2. [To move an object with a quick tug]

Syn. snatch, grab, tug, yank, whisk, pluck, snag, hook, flip, bounce, fling, hurtle, flick, wrench, twist, pull.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

Sl. *dink, fool, *bozo, *chump, *creep, *dork, *dweeb, *goober.

II

v.

pull, yank, twist, move, thrust, tug, push, shove, jolt, start.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To move or cause to move with a sudden abrupt motion: lurch, snap, twitch, wrench, yank. See MOVE, PUSH. 2. To proceed with sudden, abrupt movements: bump, jolt. See REPETITION. II noun 1. A sudden motion, such as a pull: lurch, snap, tug, twitch, wrench, yank. See MOVE, PUSH. 2. Slang. One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal: dope, gander, goose. Slang: cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, nerd, schmo, schmuck, turkey. See ABILITY. 3. Slang. An unpleasant, tiresome person: bore. Slang: drip, dweeb, nerd, pill, poop2. See LIKE.