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Glite Dictionary
jerker

jerker

3 9.7
A person or thing that gives a sudden pull to make something move
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɜrkər/
translation icon : sacudidor
  • The ads from the SPCA and various humane societies are tear-jerkers, and I have thought that if the celebrities often featured in them would part with some of their own money, they could help a lot.

Examples

  • Marlin was whiny and annoying for most of Finding Nemo, but he was a dad who loved his kid, and that makes the movie a bit of a tear-jerker for me and further up the list than most people seem to be placing it.

    Blog text (34)

  • It is one of those clichéd mother-daughter scenes from a Hollywood tear-jerker.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Like be a soda jerker

    West Side Story (2021)

  • Young twerps, soda-jerkers and jitterbugs.

    High Sierra (1941)

  • Halo 4 succeeds as a tear-jerker in the latest installment (review).

    Blog text (1)

  • The old machine had a jerker that made the entire conveyor belt shake unexpectedly.

  • When the truck hit a pothole, it caused a sudden jerker that jolted everyone inside.

  • He was known as the jerker of the dance floor, always moving in unpredictable bursts.

Synonyms

yanker
vsjerker
1 9.8

A person who pulls something hard and suddenly

causes sudden movement but not necessarily a strong pulling action
jiggler
vsjerker
1 8.0

A thing that moves something quickly to loosen or mix it

causes a single sudden or jerky motion rather than repeated small shakes
twitcher
vsjerker
8.2

A person whose muscles make small sudden movements they cannot control

refers to a single sudden jerky motion rather than frequent small involuntary movements

Compounds

soda jerker
  • Archaic
9.4

A person who serves drinks from a soda fountain in a drugstore or ice cream shop

How Jerky

shaker
27 2.0
jerker
3 9.7
twitcher
8.2

Surface Forms

jerker singular
jerkers plural

Morphology

jerker = jerk (transparent) = jerk + er

Formed by the productive agentive suffix '-er' on the verb 'jerk', yielding 'one that jerks' or an object that causes jerky motion.

Etymology

Jerker comes from the verb jerk and the agent ending -er, and jerk means 'to pull suddenly'. So a jerker is literally 'one who gives a jerk', which is why it means a person or thing that makes a quick, jerky movement or causes something to move suddenly.