Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sudden, sharp, and often unpleasant physical shock or vibration: A jar is a jolt or shake that is felt physically.
   • A wide-mouthed cylindrical container, typically made of glass or earthenware: A jar is a vessel used for storing food or other items.
   • The contents or quantity held by such a container: A jar can refer to the amount something a jar contains.

2. Verb:

   • To cause a sudden, unpleasant jolt or shock: To jar is to have a harsh, shaking, or disturbing impact, either physically or emotionally.
   • To strike or vibrate with a harsh, grating sound or sensation: To jar can mean to produce a discordant or unpleasant effect on the senses.
   • To be in conflict or disagreement; to clash: To jar means to be incompatible or not in harmony.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The car hit a pothole with a violent jar.
  • She stored the homemade pickles in a large glass jar.
  • He ate an entire jar of peanut butter in one week.

• Verb:

  • The loud explosion jarred the entire building.
  • Her shrill voice jars on my nerves.
  • His modern furniture jars with the classical architecture of the room.

Advanced Usage

• "to be on the jar": (archaic/idiomatic) to be slightly open.

  • The door was left on the jar.

• "to jar loose": to cause something to become detached or dislodged through shaking or impact.

  • The impact jarred the bolt loose from its socket.

Variants and Related Words

• Jarring (adj): causing a physical or emotional shock; incongruous or disturbing.
  • The jarring noise of the alarm woke everyone up.
• Jarful (n): the amount a jar can hold.
  • She added a jarful of water to the mixture.

Synonyms

• Noun (container): pot, crock, vessel.
• Noun (impact): jolt, shock, bump.
• Verb (to shock): jolt, shake, disturb.
• Verb (to clash): conflict, disagree, grate.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Jar against: to strike or rub against something with a harsh, grating motion or sound.
  • The rusty gate jarred against the stone post.
• Jar on: to have an irritating or unpleasant effect on someone or something.
  • His constant complaining jars on my patience.

Related Idioms

• A jarring note: something that is out of place and disrupts harmony.
  • The bright pink sculpture was a jarring note in the otherwise serene garden.
• To jar the memory: to suddenly stimulate a memory, often an unpleasant one.
  • The smell of disinfectant jarred a painful memory of the hospital.

Noun

1. a sudden jarring impact
   • the door closed with a jolt
   • all the jars and jolts were smoothed out by the shock absorbers
2. the quantity contained in a jar
   • he drank a jar of beer
3. a vessel (usually cylindrical) with a wide mouth and without handles

Verb

1. place in a cylindrical vessel
   • jar the jam
2. affect in a disagreeable way
   • This play jarred the audience
3. shock physically
   • Georgia was shaken up in the Tech game
4. move or cause to move with a sudden jerky motion
5. be incompatible; be or come into conflict
   • These colors clash