Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

shirk

[shurk]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object)

to evade (work, duty, responsibility, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to evade work, duty, etc.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Shirk is one of our favorite verbs.

So is yaff. Does it mean:

to bark; yelp.

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

noun

a shirker.

Origin:
1625–35; obscurely akin to shark²

Related forms

un·shirked, adjective

un·shirk·ing, adjective

Synonyms
1. shun, avoid, dodge.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To shirk

Example Sentences

But the parents exert the strongest influence--in one way if they do their best, in another way of they shirk their job.

But do not shirk the responsibility of fitting your paper within the time limits.

Too much responsibility is devolved to local governments that usually try hard to shirk it.

EXPAND

But the parents exert the strongest influence--in one way if they do their best, in another way of they shirk their job.

But do not shirk the responsibility of fitting your paper within the time limits.

Too much responsibility is devolved to local governments that usually try hard to shirk it.

Just another way for large business to make money and others to shirk responsibility.

They have no reason to concede any religious superiority to those who shirk their social responsibility.

Their faculty in their programs shirk the responsibility.

Afterwards, agencies scrambled to shirk responsibility.

If workers do not believe that they are treated fairly or paid adequately, they are prone to shirk.

Because it is long term, it is in every generation's interests to shirk the responsibility and shift it onto the next one.

The more people join a movement to voluntarily pay more taxes, the more others will be inclined to shirk.

In the short term that is an invitation to shirk the hard decisions that still lie ahead.

Duncan has been able to shirk responsibility long enough.

It is only natural under such expectation for herders to shirk their responsibilities and be underprepared for winter.

That's the ideology that allows entire cohorts of people to shirk responsibility for the world in which they live.

Greed is the only reason they have to shirk their responsibility to the community they are part of.

Those who already shirk their responsibilities, will continue to do.

Advocates for retirees have accused employers of using the new rule as an excuse to shirk their obligations.

Departments already have an overload of professors who shirk responsibility.

They don't shirk any of this, but they don't dwell on any of it.

They turned exclusion into independence, and independence into a moral imperative that they could not, would not shirk.

American politicians shirk their responsibilities by scapegoating the opponents' purported eroded ideology.

Not for a moment does she seem to shirk the movement.

Sloan would not allow his players to shirk them either.

Boone explained, and detailed a seemingly more efficient system of allocation that would not shirk block parties.

The one thing all snakehandlers can agree on is that shirk and idolatry are the essential tools of their trade.

Any subcontractor is likely to shirk if not watched carefully.

It is not honorable to shirk your responsibilities.

Workers around the world will shirk if poorly motivated or supervised.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

shirk¹ (ʃɜːk)

—vb
1.	to avoid discharging (work, a duty, etc); evade

—n
2.	a person who shirks

[C17: probably from German Schurke rogue; see shark²]

shirk² (ʃɪːk)

—n
	Islam
	a. the fundamental sin of regarding anything as equal to Allah
	b. any belief that is considered to be in opposition to Allah and Islam

[from Arabic: association]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

shirk

1633, "to practice fraud or trickery," also a noun (1639, now obs.) "a disreputable parasite," perhaps from Ger. schurke "scoundrel, rogue, knave, villain" (see shark). Sense of "evade one's work or duty" first recorded 1785, originally in slang.

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for shirk?
How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

Related Words

bludge blink chain fuck funk goldbrick

malinger scrimshank skate skulk slack slight

Matching Quote

"As life developed, I faced each problem as it came along. As my activities and work broadened and reached out, I never tried to shirk. I tried never to evade an issue. When I found I had something to do—I just did it."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help