Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To avoid or neglect (a duty or responsibility).
- intransitive verb To avoid work or duty.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To practise mean or artful tricks; live by one's wits; shark.
- To avoid unfairly or meanly the performance of some labor or duty.
- To procure by mean tricks; shark.
- To avoid or get off from unfairly or meanly; slink away from: as, to
shirk responsibility. - noun One who lives by shifts or tricks. See
shark . - noun One who seeks to avoid duty.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To live by shifts and fraud; to shark.
- intransitive verb To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by running away.
- noun One who lives by shifts and tricks; one who avoids the performance of duty or labor.
- transitive verb To procure by petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation.
- transitive verb To avoid; to escape; to neglect; -- implying unfaithfulness or fraud.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Islam the
unforgivable sin ofidolatry - verb transitive To
avoid , especially aduty ,responsibility , etc.; to stay away from. - noun one who shirks
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb avoid (one's assigned duties)
- verb avoid dealing with
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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First and foremost - tell a time travel story that does not shirk from a confrontation with the paradoxes.
MIND MELD: Who are Your Literary Influences in the Ongoing Conversation of Science Fiction? 2009
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She doesn't shirk from the realities that surround the economy, but neither does she give in to those who always seem to see the doom and gloom, rather than the shimmer of hope.
Obama aide hints at second stimulus, tries to slam door on tax talk 2009
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Never one to shirk from a challenge, I replied: Some friends of mine decided to remodel their kitchen.
November 2003 2003
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[FN#57] There is a play upon words in this line, founded upon the double meaning of the word shirk, sharing (or partnership) and polytheism or the attributing partners or equals to God (as in the Trinity), the one unpardonable sin of the Muslim religious code.
The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume I Anonymous 1879
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Even more suspiciously the word shirk and shark around this time held this same identical meaning-though there's no indication why someone might apply a word meaning "cheat" to a huge weird fish.
podictionary - for word lovers - dictionary etymology, trivia & history 2008
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After football and prayers the boys sat cross-legged on the floor while Faisal spoke to them about "shirk" - the sin of worshipping Gods other than Allah.
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After football and prayers the boys sat cross-legged on the floor while Faisal spoke to them about "shirk" - the sin of worshipping Gods other than Allah.
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Normally, I’d shirk from the suggestion of having a “pro” wrestler play the lead in a Marvel blockbuster, but given the character in question, casting anyone lacking the physique of such a wrestler would simply set things up poorly.
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It does point out that there was an Austrian-German word for a sturgeon that was similar and also that the word shirk was being used in English before this to mean a person of little use, and a cheater.
podictionary - for word lovers - dictionary etymology, trivia & history 2008
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Outsiders don't always take SSHRC (always pronounced "shirk") as seriously as SSHRC would like.
Lex Luthor Hearts Superman Jes Battis 2007
titi commented on the word shirk
"We, as a nation, cannot afford to shirk responsibility any longer,"
March 30, 2009