as in twitched
to make jerky or restless movements
small children are likely to fidget in church
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Recent Examples of fidgeted
One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.
—
David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 2025
David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fidgeted
Verb
-
Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
My jaw twitched uncontrollably.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 May 2026
-
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the summer of 2020, former Morgan Stanley trader Adam Crawley was wandering through Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, perfecting his qigong with a man called Master YanG, when a cold message on LinkedIn jerked him back to reality.—
Phoebe Liu,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
John jerked Maggie back by the elbow and stopped her from stepping into the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Channeling his inner Jameson, a spirited Simmons then motioned for Spider-Man to get tossed from the game.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2026
-
Schlittler tossed a quality start in six innings.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
But what does some scientist know about eating fruit, of all things, when your hamstring feels like it’s being fiddled by Satan?—
Dan England,
Outside,
5 Feb. 2026
-
As Rossini stowed her purse in a tiny back office, a manager named Katie Atlas was onboarding a new employee, a young woman who fiddled nervously with her necklace.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Femi tried to hit Lesnar with a Fall from Grace, but Lesnar wiggled out of it.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2026
-
De Avila nearly wiggled out of a huge jam in the first inning, producing two strikeouts after the Knights loaded the bases with no outs.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fidgeted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fidgeted. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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