to neglect or evade doing (something that should be done)
Origin of shirk
uncertain or unknown; perhaps akin to German schurke, scoundrel, rascal to neglect or evade work, duty, etc.
Clayton regularly shirks his responsibilities at work by claiming he suffers from narcolepsy.
Shirk is defined as to avoid or get out of doing something that should be done.
An example of to shirk is a receptionist leaving work while a customer is left on hold.
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shirk
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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shirk
verb
shirked, shirk·ing, shirksverb
transitiveTo avoid or neglect (a duty or responsibility).
verb
intransitiveTo avoid work or duty.
Origin of shirk
Perhaps from German Schurke scoundrel Old High German fiurscurgo demon fiur fire scurigen to stir upRelated Forms:
- shirk′er
noun
noun
IslamThe sin of offering worship to idols or to any being other than God.
Origin of shirk
Arabic širk association (of an idol) as a partner to God, sharing (of an idol) in the worship due to God alone, shirk from šarika to share, associate, be a partner Akkadian šarāku to give, bestow Ugaritic šrk to associate withTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"Shirk." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Shirk.
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Verb
(third-person singular simple present shirks, present participle shirking, simple past and past participle shirked)
- To avoid, especially a duty, responsibility, etc.; to stay away from.
- If you have a job, don't shirk from it by staying off work.
- (intransitive) To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by running away.
- To procure by petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation.
Noun
(plural shirks)
- one who shirks
Origin
First attested use in 1625 - 1635, apparently from association with shark (verb form), or from German Schurke (“rogue, knave") .
Origin
Arabic شرك (širk, "idolatry").
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"Shirk." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Shirk.
APA Style
Shirk. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Shirk
Sentence Examples
- When you are stressed, do you find yourself snapping at others and feeling irritable (that's the "fight" part), or do you shirk your responsibilities and dive under the bed covers when it all becomes "too much" (that's the "flight" part).
- In the 1960s and 1970s, crocheting a bathing suit allowed a woman to express individuality even while swimming, and shirk consumerism as well.
- I can't believe Russ would shirk the responsibility of his own child.
- He was a reasonable man and she had never known him to shirk his responsibilities.
- With that event it is again natural to connect Timothy's imprisonment, his release from which our author records in closing; while the news of Jewish success in Paul's case would enhance any tendency among Asian Jewish Christians to shirk "boldness" of confession (x.
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