shirk
- to evade (work, duty, responsibility, etc.).
- to evade work, duty, etc.
- a shirker.
Origin of shirk
Synonyms for shirk
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for shirk
pussyfoot, fence, cheat, sidestep, goldbrick, elude, slip, duck, creep, quit, bypass, dodge, slink, lurk, sneak, parry, malinger, snake, shun, skulkExamples from the Web for shirk
Contemporary Examples of shirk
And to shirk that part of our human responsibility is, well, a sin.
Should this happen it would be doubly disastrous were we to shirk the challenge now.
They abuse drinks or drugs, abuse spouses and loved ones, shirk sleep and plummet into crippling depression.
“Congress must not shirk its responsibilities,” the White House said in a statement.
Historical Examples of shirk
We have duties to others and duties to ourselves; and we can shirk neither.
You work till you are tired of it; then you go off and shirk, and call it studying.
The Dominant StrainAnna Chapin Ray
And here the demagogue arose and bade her shirk no issue, even the red flag.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
I do not court publicity, but I cannot shirk my duty because it entails that.
The CreviceWilliam John Burns and Isabel Ostrander
Sick of life—to tell you the truth; but what would have been the good to shirk it—in—in—that way?
Lord JimJoseph Conrad
shirk
1- to avoid discharging (work, a duty, etc); evade
- a person who shirks
Word Origin for shirk
shirk
2- Islam
- the fundamental sin of regarding anything as equal to Allah
- any belief that is considered to be in opposition to Allah and Islam
Word Origin for shirk
Word Origin and History for shirk
1630s, "to practice fraud or trickery," also a noun (1630s, now obsolete) "a needy, disreputable parasite" [OED], perhaps from German schurke "scoundrel, rogue, knave, villain" (see shark (n.)). Sense of "evade one's work or duty" first recorded 1785, originally in slang. Related: Shirked; shirking.