Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to shirk
Participle: shirked
Gerund: shirking
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | shirk |
| you | shirk |
| he;she;it | shirks |
| we | shirk |
| you | shirk |
| they | shirk |
Perfect
| I | have shirked |
| you | have shirked |
| he;she;it | has shirked |
| we | have shirked |
| you | have shirked |
| they | have shirked |
Past
| I | shirked |
| you | shirked |
| he;she;it | shirked |
| we | shirked |
| you | shirked |
| they | shirked |
Pluperfect
| I | had shirked |
| you | had shirked |
| he;she;it | had shirked |
| we | had shirked |
| you | had shirked |
| they | had shirked |
Future
| I | will shirk |
| you | will shirk |
| he;she;it | will shirk |
| we | will shirk |
| you | will shirk |
| they | will shirk |
Future Perfect
| I | will have shirked |
| you | will have shirked |
| he;she;it | will have shirked |
| we | will have shirked |
| you | will have shirked |
| they | will have shirked |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | shirk |
| you | shirk |
| he;she;it | shirk |
| we | shirk |
| you | shirk |
| they | shirk |
Perfect
| I | have shirked |
| you | have shirked |
| he;she;it | have shirked |
| we | have shirked |
| you | have shirked |
| they | have shirked |
Imperfect
| I | shirked |
| you | shirked |
| he;she;it | shirked |
| we | shirked |
| you | shirked |
| they | shirked |
Pluperfect
| I | had shirked |
| you | had shirked |
| he;she;it | had shirked |
| we | had shirked |
| you | had shirked |
| they | had shirked |
Conditional
Present
| I | would shirk |
| you | would shirk |
| he;she;it | would shirk |
| we | would shirk |
| you | would shirk |
| they | would shirk |
Perfect
| I | would have shirked |
| you | would have shirked |
| he;she;it | would have shirked |
| we | would have shirked |
| you | would have shirked |
| they | would have shirked |
Imperative
| you | shirk |
| we | Let's shirk |
| you | shirk |
Verbs conjugated like 'shirk'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'shirk'
chirk,
shark,
shink,
shire,
shirl,
shirr,
shirt,
smirk,
chark,
chick,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to avoid a duty or responsibility
- blow off, dog, doss, duck, goldbrick, goof off, lollygag, malinger, procrastinate, slack off, soldier, swing the lead
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
First use appears c. 1633, in the publications of Shackerley Marmion, apparently from association with shark (verb), or otherwise directly from German Schurke (“rogue, knave”).
Sample Sentences
-
the usual makeshift by which they try to shirk difficulties [1826, Julius Hare, Guesses at Truth by Two Brothers:]
-
Back in school, you ever get busted for trynna walk and have some administrator tell you / "Son, you can shirk your obligations, / and try to be different from your peers, / but responsibility, your future / is gonna find you!" [1989, “Gonna Find You”, in Operation Ivy (CD), performed by Operation Ivy, Lookout Records, →OCLC:]
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If you have a job, don't shirk from it by staying off work.
-
September 7, 1830, Lord Byron, letter to Mr. Murray
-
One of the cities shirked from the league.
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Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984) develop a dynamic model in which firms induce workers to work hard by paying high wages and threatening to fire workers caught shirking. [1992, Robert Gibbons, A Primer in Game Theory, Prentice-Hall, page 107:]
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You that never heard the call of any vocation, […] that shirk living from others, but time from yourselves. [1635, Bishop Rainbow, Sermons:]