as in trembling
a series of slight movements by a body back and forth or from side to side
the twitching of my cat's ears was a signal that I should stop petting her before she got any angrier
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in fidgeting
to make jerky or restless movements
the dog twitched in her sleep
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in jerking
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
the rabbit twitched its nose
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of twitching
Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses were born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms, according to the AP.
—Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses was born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms.
—ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
The disease, which gets worse over time, starts with muscle twitching, slurred speech, or weakness in an arm or leg.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 20 Feb. 2026
After 10 weeks without food, Muraisi is experiencing involuntary muscular twitching and severe chest pains, according to Prisoners for Palestine, with her doctors warning of possible cardiovascular collapse.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 14 Jan. 2026
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025
The more serious side effects of caffeine overdose include trouble breathing, sudden high blood pressure, muscle twitching, confusion, vomiting and seizures.
—News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Afternoon Ben Thanh Market is Hồ Chí Minh’s biggest market – a vast maze of 1,500 stalls selling everything from still-twitching fish to electronics and souvenirs.
—Tamara Hinson, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2026
So when an octopus starts flashing colors and twitching in its sleep, the parallels are hard to ignore.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
The story still lays there on the table, limp as a corpse, but freakishly still twitching.
—Jd Barker, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
As the drugs started flowing, King began breathing heavily, his body twitching.
—David Fischer The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026
As the drugs started flowing, King began breathing heavily, his body twitching.
—Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Behind them a young man with a paint-flecked beard followed the designer about the set, twitching the hem of the velvet curtains hung at the window and rearranging the ornaments on the mantelpiece.
—Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Levy brought the dog in dead and claimed that that the dog had a seizure and was vomiting, choking and twitching before his death.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
Noun
During this phase, octopuses display visible twitching along with rapid changes in skin color and texture, per NPR.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses were born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms, according to the AP.
—Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses was born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms.
—ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
The disease, which gets worse over time, starts with muscle twitching, slurred speech, or weakness in an arm or leg.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 20 Feb. 2026
After 10 weeks without food, Muraisi is experiencing involuntary muscular twitching and severe chest pains, according to Prisoners for Palestine, with her doctors warning of possible cardiovascular collapse.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 14 Jan. 2026
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025
The more serious side effects of caffeine overdose include trouble breathing, sudden high blood pressure, muscle twitching, confusion, vomiting and seizures.
—News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Verb
Curry’s body began convulsing and twitching with increasing severity, consistent with him sustaining a traumatic brain injury from being punched in the face, documents state.
—Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Afternoon Ben Thanh Market is Hồ Chí Minh’s biggest market – a vast maze of 1,500 stalls selling everything from still-twitching fish to electronics and souvenirs.
—Tamara Hinson, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2026
So when an octopus starts flashing colors and twitching in its sleep, the parallels are hard to ignore.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
The story still lays there on the table, limp as a corpse, but freakishly still twitching.
—Jd Barker, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
As the drugs started flowing, King began breathing heavily, his body twitching.
—David Fischer The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026
As the drugs started flowing, King began breathing heavily, his body twitching.
—Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Behind them a young man with a paint-flecked beard followed the designer about the set, twitching the hem of the velvet curtains hung at the window and rearranging the ornaments on the mantelpiece.
—Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Levy brought the dog in dead and claimed that that the dog had a seizure and was vomiting, choking and twitching before his death.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for twitching
Noun
-
At first this change of scale vivifies the butterfly—its brief stillness, the angle of its wings, its trembling—while freezing everything else, including the novel’s action.—
Ben Lerner,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Its strength ranges from mild, causing little more discomfort than a slight trembling, to severe, in which passengers or flight crew can be thrown around the cabin and risk injury if not wearing seatbelts.—
Cat Rainsford,
Popular Science,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The design was inspired by the hair-tearing boredom of COVID lockdown-era remote work, a time in which Knafs founder Ben Petersen maintained sanity during Zoom calls by fidgeting around with pocket knives and doodling pictures.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Minimal but purposeful movement, avoiding fidgeting or excessive gestures, shows intention.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Tony Fauci was not just jerking the country around.—
David Blumenthal,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The clip on TikTok shows the seat jerking abruptly, apparently from forceful pushes by the person seated behind her.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
There will be no squirming tonight.—
Addie Citchens,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
-
In the new iteration that would be Jack and his girlfriend Martha (Elle Fanning), whose introduction to the Taylors is one of many scenes played out with squirming discomfort.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Keep the movement coming from your ribs, rotating, not by yanking your neck.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
1 Apr. 2026
-
In other words, eliminating them from the animal kingdom would be like yanking an entire tier of Jenga blocks out of the middle of the tower.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The old dog slowed to a stop, nose full of bird stink, feathery tail quivering.—
Joel M. Vance,
Outdoor Life,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The idea of tossing a bunch of ingredients into a device in the morning and coming home to a delicious hot meal is undoubtedly appealing, but the reality often falls short.—
Callie Sumlin,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Instead of tossing the expensive liquor, the man decided to share it with his fellow passengers.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Twitching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twitching. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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