as in to twitch
to make jerky or restless movements
small children are likely to fidget in church
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fidget
In your experience, do people fidget to purposely get non-conclusive results?
—
Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2025
For weeks, Combs, 55, has maintained an attentive and easygoing presence inside a Manhattan federal courtroom — occasionally shaking his head, fidgeting in his seat or passing notes to his attorneys.
—Danielle Bacher, People.com, 18 June 2025
Part of identifying suspicious travelers relies on noticing behaviors such as fidgeting or having a penetrating stare, which government watchdogs and some lawmakers have criticized in the past as an unreliable basis for probable cause.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 6 June 2025
With the two teams lined up and waiting to exchange handshakes, many players shuffled from foot to foot or fidgeted nervously.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fidget
Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2025
For weeks, Combs, 55, has maintained an attentive and easygoing presence inside a Manhattan federal courtroom — occasionally shaking his head, fidgeting in his seat or passing notes to his attorneys.
—Danielle Bacher, People.com, 18 June 2025
Part of identifying suspicious travelers relies on noticing behaviors such as fidgeting or having a penetrating stare, which government watchdogs and some lawmakers have criticized in the past as an unreliable basis for probable cause.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 6 June 2025
With the two teams lined up and waiting to exchange handshakes, many players shuffled from foot to foot or fidgeted nervously.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fidget
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fidget
Verb
-
One of the 50 boys starts convulsing on the road, and as Jonsson and Hoffman’s characters walk backwards to see what happens, soldiers have their guns trained on his twitching body before a gunshot rings out.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
25 July 2025
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This is why after a snake is killed, its body will still twitch and move around, and why its head can still bite.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Focker In-Law is primed to make theatrical audiences squirm on Nov. 25, 2026.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 July 2025
-
Algae, bacteria, and simple protozoa would have squirmed around on top of or under the ice, and other specks of life would have swarmed alongside hydrothermal vents on the seafloor.—
Laura Poppick
July 22,
Literary Hub,
22 July 2025
Verb
-
From there, Young tossed an accurate ball to Sanders for a would-be first down and it was dropped by the second-year tight end, who has put together an otherwise excellent camp.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Aug. 2025
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Teams of two will compete by tossing bacon from skillet to skillet.—
Andy Humbles,
The Tennessean,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Just a few blocks from arrival, the car lurched toward the other lane—which was, thankfully, empty—and immediately jerked back.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
13 May 2025
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Having already had to navigate a 180-degree turn around a roundabout at 80km per hour, the road jerked to the left with around 1.6km remaining and, with some riders forced wide, the group was split.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
Verb
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Communities across the globe probably independently fiddled their way towards the invention of proto lip balms over and over.—
Mark Hay,
Popular Science,
13 Aug. 2025
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Haggard was fiddling on the new strings when Marian, Dad’s mother, who’d taken over as the store’s bookkeeper, walked by.—
Nancy Walecki,
The Atlantic,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The orange-and-black fish almost seem to wiggle their way upward, even as the angle of the wall becomes steeper.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
11 Aug. 2025
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For running or walking shoes: Do your toes have plenty of space to wiggle?—
Hannah Dylan Pasternak,
SELF,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fidget.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fidget. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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