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to jolt

to jolt

15 3.7
To move in a sudden, rough way
  • verb
  • /dʒoʊlt/
translation icon : sacudir
  • Wednesday morning, long before the alarm went off, I was jolted from twisting dreams by the telephone.
  • jolted awake

When I move and smile and jolt my face around, I have wrinkles that move.

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Examples

  • John Cutter sits upright in bed, jolted from the nightmare.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Selina fires her stun gun at the answering machine, jolting it off.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I start to sleep and then I jolt awake.

  • When I move and smile and jolt my face around, I have wrinkles that move.

  • When my line was hit, I was jolted and had forgotten I was fishing at all.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Humans weren't supposed to be able to get up so quickly after being jolted like that.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The van revs its motor, jolts forward through traffic, blaring its horn.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The kegs and jars had begun jolting free of their lashings.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • McArthur stamped on the accelerator and jolted his big green car over a curb.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The car hit a pothole and jolted my coffee mug off the table.

Synonyms

to shake
vsto jolt
916 1.0

To move quickly from side to side or up and down

is a sudden rough motion rather than general repeated or vibrating movement
to jerk
vsto jolt
217 2.0

To move something suddenly and sharply

is rougher and more uneven rather than sharply precise movement
to lurch
vsto jolt
34 5.6

To move suddenly and unsteadily, often forward or to one side

is a sudden rough motion that is not mainly about losing balance
to jar
vsto jolt
1 5.3

To move or make something move with a sudden strong shake

is used for causing such motion, not only being moved
to judder
vsto jolt
  • UK
1 8.4

Shake quickly and strongly, often making a loud noise

is a single sudden rough motion rather than ongoing intense vibration
to jole
vsto jolt
  • UK
9.9

To move with a sudden sharp shake, for example over bumps

is the neutral standard form used across varieties rather than dialectal speech

Antonyms

204 1.0

Moving or happening in an even, easy way without sudden problems

75 4.3

To become steady and stop changing

How Abrupt

to convulse
8 7.8
to jolt
15 3.7
to bump
111 1.0
to shake
916 1.0
to twitch
66 2.8

Surface Forms

jolt infinitive
jolted past
jolted past participle
jolting present participle
jolts third person singular

Etymology

The verb jolt grew from that same image of a quick hit or bump. To jolt something is to give it a sudden rough movement, so it means 'to move with a sudden, jerky motion'.