Shirk (Verb)
Meaning 1
Avoid dealing with; "She shirks her duties".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- He is notorious for shirking his responsibilities at work, often leaving his colleagues with the extra workload.
- The intern tends to shirk any task that involves manual labor, preferring instead to focus on office duties.
- Her lack of enthusiasm often leads her to shirk her assigned tasks and seek out more enjoyable activities.
- Many feel that the government is shirking its duty to protect the environment and preserve natural resources for future generations.
- The new employee has been known to shirk his evening shifts, claiming he needs to attend to family emergencies that never seem to materialize.
Meaning 2
Avoid (one's assigned duties); "The derelict soldier shirked his duties".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Examples
- The lazy employee consistently shirked his responsibilities and left others to pick up the slack.
- The teenager's parents suspected he was shirking his homework by spending all evening playing video games.
- When the project deadline drew near, some team members began to shirk their tasks and blame others for delays.
- The politician was accused of shirking her duties by failing to address pressing issues and instead focusing on publicity stunts.
- The soldier's decision to shirk his patrol duties put his comrades at risk and damaged his reputation within the unit.