shirk
Americanverb (used with object)
-
shirks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shirked,
past participle, past
-
shirking
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
shirks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shirked,
past participle, past
-
shirking
present participle
noun
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shirksimple
-
shirkssimple
-
have shirkedperfect
-
has shirkedperfect
-
am shirkingprogressive
-
are shirkingprogressive
-
is shirkingprogressive
-
have been shirkingperfect progressive
-
has been shirkingperfect progressive
Past
-
shirkedsimple
-
had shirkedperfect
-
was shirkingprogressive
-
were shirkingprogressive
-
had been shirkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shirk
First recorded in 1625–35; obscurely akin to shark 2
Explanation
To shirk your responsibilities is to avoid dealing with them — like when you watch four consecutive hours of infomercials instead of facing your homework. A verb is an action word, so it's ironic that the verb shirk suggests inaction in the avoidance of work. To shirk carries with it a negative connotation of laziness. When Eleanor Roosevelt was asked how she conquered her shyness to become a powerful public figure, she responded, "I faced each problem as it came along. . . . I never tried to shirk. I tried never to evade an issue. When I found I had something to do — I just did it." Ah, Eleanor, why can't we all be a bit more like you?
Vocabulary lists containing shirk
Animal Farm
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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Bless Me, Ultima
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But he fronted up and didn't shirk the flurry of uncomfortable questions that came his way.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The government's counsel, Jenkin Suen, told the inquiry that authorities would not shirk responsibility and pledged "systemic reforms".
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
And yet, both Andie and Iona shirk their individuality for stability, leaving those singular, oh-so-charming elements of their characters in the dust when wealthy men come calling.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
“Once an artificial intelligence weapon system produces safety hazards, the ‘algorithm black box’ may become a rationalized excuse for the relevant responsible parties to shirk responsibility,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
“You shirk your duties on purpose and leave your work for others to do. You disrespect me and what I do for you.”
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Too many misplaced passes but never hides or shirks responsibility.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
But she never shirks from the hard facts of the Du Bois history, or that of blackness in this country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Everybody else just sort of shirks because they think they own the room.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2022
The rainbow house shirks those safer sensibilities in an effort to include all family members regardless of age in the styling of the house.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2022
He shirks the performance of no public duty.
From The Future of Road-making in America by Archer Bulter Hulbert
In Mr. Scott’s telling, Truman is a scaled-down version of David McCullough’s everyman hero: a political pugilist who, despite inner doubts, never shirked the hard moral decisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The 437-page report written by a panel of three judges in 2021 found that the state had shirked its duty to protect Caruana Galizia and subjected her to personal attacks and verbal abuse from politicians.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
But when one vice signals, the out-group’s values take center stage — in order to be shirked rather than lived up to.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2026
On the other hand, England under Stokes and McCullum have not shirked big selection decisions.
From BBC ● May 29, 2025
He would not have shirked the task of leading, but Ferrier's experience might make all the difference between success and failure, and it was certainly not a time to run any avoidable risks.
From Settlers and Scouts by Herbert Strang
You could never accuse Formula 1 of shirking a challenge.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Employees monitor social-media posts to spot users’ latest methods for shirking their missions, said Jay Shin, chief executive of DelightRoom, the South Korean company behind Alarmy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
If letting Claude kill people on its own is not shirking oversight mechanisms, then we might reasonably question which “oversight mechanisms” Anthropic is talking about.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2026
After that is when the singer noticed that kindly dad shirking his duties in “Hot to Go!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2025
Not long after Fischer reached Kruse and began the troublesome descent to Base Camp, they encountered Boukreev at the top of the Icefall, ascending alone, and Fischer harshly reprimanded the guide for shirking his responsibilities.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
