Definitions for shrug
ʃrʌgshrug

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. shrugverb

   a gesture involving the shoulders

2. shrugverb

   raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation

GCIDERate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. shrugnoun

   A gesture consisting of drawing up the shoulders, -- a motion usually expressing doubt, indifference, or dislike; -- it is sometimes accompanied by a slight turning of the hands outward or upward. Such a gesture may be made, as in answering "who knows" to a question, suggesting utter ignorance of an answer and a disinclination to pursue the topic further.

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shrugnoun

   A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference.

   He dismissed my comment with a shrug.

2. shrugverb

   To raise the shoulders to express a lack of knowledge or certainty.

   I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.

3. shrugverb

   To raise the shoulders to express a lack of concern or worry.

   When he saw the problem, he just shrugged and started fixing it.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrugnoun

   A motion of the shoulders usually expressing dislike or aversion.

   Etymology: from the verb.

   And yet they ramble not to learn the mode,
   How to be drest, or how to lisp abroad,
   To return knowing in the Spanish shrug. John Cleveland.

   As Spaniards talk in dialogues,
   Of heads and shoulders, nods and shrugs. Hudibras.

   Put on the critick’s brow, and sit
   At Will’s, the puny judge of wit.
   A nod, a shrug, a scornful smile,
   With caution us’d may serve a while. Jonathan Swift.

2. To Shrugverb

   To contract or draw up.

   He shrugs his shoulders when you talk of securities. Addison.

   Zealots will shrug up their shoulders. Blount.

   He shrug’d his sturdy back,
   As if he felt his shoulders ake. Hudibras.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrug

   A shrug is a gesture performed by raising both shoulders, and is a representation of an individual either being indifferent about something or not knowing an answer to a question. The shoulder-raising action may be accompanied by rotating the palms upwards, pulling closed lips downwards, raising the eyebrows or tilting the head to one side. A shrug is an emblem, meaning that it integrates the vocabulary of only certain cultures and may be used in place of words. In many countries, such as the United States, Sweden and Morocco, a shrug represents hesitation or lack of knowledge; however, in other countries, such as Japan and China, shrugging is uncommon and is not used to show hesitation. People from the Philippines, Iran and Iraq may interpret a shrug as a somewhat impolite sign of confidence.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shrug

   A shrug is a gesture or action involving raising and lowering the shoulders, typically expressing indifference, doubt, or lack of knowledge. It can also be a verbal expression conveying the same sentiments.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrugverb

   to draw up or contract (the shoulders), especially by way of expressing dislike, dread, doubt, or the like

2. Shrugverb

   to raise or draw up the shoulders, as in expressing dislike, dread, doubt, or the like

3. Shrugnoun

   a drawing up of the shoulders, -- a motion usually expressing dislike, dread, or doubt

4. Etymology: [Probably akin to shrink, p. p. shrunk; cf. Dan. skrugge, skrukke, to stoop, dial. Sw. skrukka, skruga, to crouch.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrug

   A shrug is a gesture that is performed by lifting both shoulders up, and is an indication of an individual either not knowing an answer to a question, or not caring about a result. It can also be used when someone is simply ignoring the person's question. It may be accentuated with raised eyebrows and/or an exaggerated frown. It is very common in Western culture, rather than saying "I don't know", they would simply perform a shrug. In the English-speaking world it may be accompanied by a three syllable grunt or hummed mumble mimicking the intonation of "I dunno". The shrug is relatively absent from Eastern culture. The gesture may be accompanied by raised palms.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shrug

   shrug, v.t. to draw up: to contract.—v.i. to draw up the shoulders, expressive of doubt, surprise, indifference, &c.:—pr.p. shrug′ging; pa.t. and pa.p. shrugged.—n. an expressive drawing up of the shoulders. [Scand., Dan. skrugge, to stoop.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shrug

   Song lyrics by shrug -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by shrug on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Gesture

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shrug' in Verbs Frequency: #591

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for shrug »

1. grush

How to pronounce shrug?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say shrug in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shrug in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shrug in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of shrug in a Sentence

1. Sterne:

   How frequently are the honesty and integrity of a man disposed of by a smile or a shrug. How many good and generous actions have been sunk into oblivion by a distrustful look, or stamped with the imputation of bad motives, by a mysterious and seasonable whisper!

2. James Comey:

   I kind of shrug and sometimes smile and laugh about it and then I have a secondary reaction, which is to be horrified at my own numb reaction, right ? we have to remind ourselves the President of the United States of America is publicly announcing that people are committing crimes, that they should be in jail.

3. The Democrats:

   You walk up and down this street and ask every person whether they cared or worried about Russia and connections to Dana Rohrabacher, they'd shrug their shoulders.

4. Alexandra Kartokhina:

   As for these eternal squabbles that students from Crimea are taking university places from Russians, I can say only that it's completely absurd, and let me say that they have only allocated budgeted places for Crimean students to some universities and in some specialisms, which are often not the best. In some universities, questions about quotas are met with a shrug and a puzzled look.

5. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

   I am going to keep saying loud and clear that I am a feminist until it is met with a shrug.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=shrug
2. ^ GCIDE
   https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=shrug
3. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Shrug
4. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=shrug
5. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrug
6. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
7. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrug
8. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=shrug
9. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=shrug
10. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=shrug