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
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
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
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
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
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
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
-
At times, Alcaraz was almost as clumsy as Federer in his last hurrah here against Hubert Hurkacz in 2021.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
But things get weighed down by a clumsy body-swapping plot and a pairing between Joe and 22 that never fully pays off.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Fort Worth water department is using the Village Creek Drying Beds as part of an emergency response to a spill of 2,600 barrels of crude oil near Lake Arlington in early May.—
Cody Copeland,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 July 2025
-
China's demand for petrol and diesel is falling as electric vehicle sales surge, but the trend is being masked by the country's massive strategic stockpiling of crude oil, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
Most young kids who are just getting used to their animal friends tend to be a little rough with them at first.—
Marilyn La Jeunesse,
Parents,
9 July 2025
-
His second and third seasons were especially rough.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
Nearly one in four Gen Z professionals viewed the thumbs-up as rude or hostile.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
-
Mowing during a neighbor’s party is considered rude because the noise disrupts conversation and spoils the relaxed mood.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
Maryland’s home detention/electronic monitoring system is flawed and needs fixing.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
11 July 2025
-
Jess and Felix, by contrast, are real, funny, messy, horny, flawed people.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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