Meaning & use
shirking
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“shirking” is a form of “shirk”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivedisapproving
Present participle of shirk: avoiding a duty, task, or responsibility that you ought to do.
Grammar: Takes an object or stands alone: shirking his duties, or accused of shirking.
Patterns
- shirk something
- shirk from something
- shirk doing something
He was accused of shirking his share of the housework.
Stop shirking and help us carry the boxes.
The manager caught two staff members shirking their duties during the night shift.
verbuncountabledisapproving
Present participle of shirk used as a gerund noun: the act of dodging work or obligations.
Grammar: Used like a noun: Shirking will not be tolerated.
Patterns
- shirking of something
Shirking is not allowed on this team.
The teacher punished his shirking of homework.
Constant shirking by one member annoyed the whole group.
Word forms
| base form | shirk |
|---|---|
| third person singular | shirks |
| past tense | shirked |
| past participle | shirked |
Common combinations
- shirking responsibility
- The mayor was criticized for shirking responsibility after the flood.
- shirking duties
- Shirking duties at the clinic put patients at risk.
- shirking work
- Nobody liked the colleague who was always shirking work.
- accused of shirking
- He was accused of shirking his chores.
- caught shirking
- The sergeant caught him shirking guard duty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dodging
- Dodging is more informal and playful, and can mean avoiding anything, not only duties.
- evading
- Evading often suggests escaping something serious like taxes or the law, while shirking is about avoiding work or duty.
- slacking
- Slacking means working with less effort than you should, whereas shirking means avoiding the task entirely.
- neglecting
- Neglecting means failing to look after something, sometimes by accident, but shirking is always deliberate.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: shirking or skirting? shirking or shrinking?
shirking vs skirting
Skirting means going around the edge of something or avoiding a topic, while shirking means avoiding a duty.
shirking vs shrinking
Shrinking means becoming smaller, and it is sometimes mixed up with shirking because of the similar sound.
Practice
Which sentence uses shirking correctly?
Choose one answer.
Shirking means avoiding a duty, and the sentence about nobody avoiding the work fits. Praise for shirking is illogical, and clothing shrinks rather than shirks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shirking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.