- shrug
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} nounADJECTIVE▪ little, slight, small▪ simple▪
The answer was a simple shrug.
▪ careless, indifferent▪ casual, nonchalant▪ dismissive▪ half-hearted, helpless, resigned▪ weary▪ apologetic▪ self-deprecating▪ mental▪With a mental shrug, he decided to tell the truth.
▪ Gallic (BrE)VERB + SHRUG▪ give▪The boy gave a slight shrug and walked away.
PREPOSITION▪ in a shrug▪She lifted her shoulders in a little shrug
▪ with a shrug▪‘I don't know!’ she said with a shrug.
▪ shrug of▪a shrug of resignation
PHRASES▪ a shrug of the/your shoulders▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
verbADVERB▪ lightly, slightly▪ carelessly, dismissively, indifferently, nonchalantly, offhandedly▪She shrugged nonchalantly and turned away.
▪ casually▪ wearily▪ uncomfortably▪ apologetically, awkwardly, sheepishly▪ helplessly▪He shrugged helplessly and said nothing.
▪ innocently, modestly▪ good-naturedly▪ just, merely, only, simply▪He merely shrugged his shoulders in reply.
Shrug is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑shoulderShrug is used with these nouns as the object: ↑shoulder
Collocations dictionary. 2013.