shirk
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To avoid doing a task or duty.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shurkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃɝk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To avoid, especially a duty, responsibility, etc.; to stay away from.
Avoid (one's assigned duties)
“The derelict soldier shirked his duties.”
intransitive
To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by running away.
Avoid dealing with
transitive
To procure by petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation.
noun
One who shirks, who avoids a duty or responsibility.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To avoid, especially a duty, responsibility, etc.; to stay away from.
Used this way, shirk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use shirk
- “The derelict soldier shirked his duties.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to avoid or especially a duty or responsibility
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.