- Thrust is the standard past tense form of the verb thrust.
- Thrusted exists, but it is rare.
Have you ever flown in an airplane? Thrust is one of the things that makes the aircraft move in the sky. According to HowStuffWorkst, thrust is “the aerodynamic force that pushes or pulls the airplane forward through space.” Planes use jet engines or propellers to create thrust. Why the lesson in aerodynamics? If you understand thrust as a noun, it will help you to get a sense of the verb. To thrust means to propel forward, to push something or someone forcibly in a certain direction.
How to Conjugate Thrust
Look at the conjugation below. Then, try to guess why thrust is one of the easiest irregular verbs to memorize in the present tense.
I thrust you thrust he/she/it thrusts we thrust you thrust they thrust
Thrust doesn’t change much in the present tense! Except for the third person singular form, which features an S at the end, thrust is the form to use. How about the past tense? Typically, you add an -ed to the base form of a verb to form the past tense. Applying this rule, the past tense of thrust would be thrusted. Are there any examples of this form on the web?
Jackson Post 158 was thrusted into the loser’s bracket at the Zone 4 Senior Legion Tournament following Friday’s loss but was able to prevail in thrilling fashion Saturday and advance back to the championship game, where it fell once again to the hosts and ended its season in Ste. Genevieve. —Southeast Missourian
Morin was first to take the stage in the final round of the eighth annual tribute artist competition in Immokalee. He started his set with “Burning Love.” On each “hunka hunka,” Morin punched the air and thrusted his hips, sending the beads on his waistband into a fury. It wasn’t long before a crowd at the Seminole Casino Hotel gathered at the stage, desperate for their moment with — at least in their minds — Elvis Presley. —Naples Daily News
Though you can find examples of thrusted, they are relatively rare. What do writers use instead? Examine these two quotes:
Between the rows of tomatoes were little arachnid weeds that sprouted out instead of up. He knelt down and his right knee—the bad one—flared up from the impact. After taking a moment to wince, he thrust his hand into the soil, which was surprisingly warm for this time of year. He figured the weeds would come up easily, but when he went to pull, they stayed firmly rooted. —Drew Magary, The Hike
Although she has been thrust into the limelight for her stunning performance on a reality TV singing competition in China, Adinda Tasya Mansor is not about to rest on her laurels. —The Star Online, “Adinda already eyeing next round of singing contest in China”
How much more popular is thrust than thrusted? Google Ngram Viewer is an online search engine that compares how many times certain words appear in a large text corpora. In comparison to thrust, thrusted is barely on the chart.
Thrusted just isn’t very popular. Most people use thrust. Now that you know so much about the verb, you can use it to talk about lots of things. In fencing, to jab with the sword is to thrust. You can thrust an object, but you can also thrust yourself figuratively into a conversation or a situation. How will you use this word?
