squiggle

verb

ˈskwi-gəl How to pronounce squiggle (audio)
Definition of squigglenext
1
as in to twitch
to make jerky or restless movements a pediatrician's waiting room full of squiggling toddlers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to scribble
to write or draw hastily or carelessly there are some illegible notes squiggled in the margins of the old book

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of squiggle The salamanders are still squiggling commas inside them. — Nathan Rott, NPR, 27 May 2026 The cake is gingery, light and moist, squiggled with thick cream cheese frosting. — Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 15 Sep. 2025 The six dancers in bright blues and greens (a seventh, originally Brown, appears at the beginning and the end) ripple and squiggle through space, intersecting and occasionally aligning, ricocheting and weaving. — Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, 1 May 2025 Breaking water in the morning and shoulders squiggling free in the dark of evening. — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for squiggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squiggle
  1. twitch
  2. scribble
  3. fidget
  4. scrawl
  5. toss
  6. squirm
  7. jerk
  8. wiggle
Verb
  • During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • When a sensor detected the left or right forelimb moving, the hub sent a limb-specific pulse through the body that reached an implant on the corresponding hind leg, which stimulated the sciatic nerve and made that leg twitch.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of twitch
Verb
  • An urge strong enough to pull me away from the kitchen, grab my computer, and steal a table outside to scribble out my thoughts.
    — Samantha Rees, Vogue, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The gesture sets off a chain reaction, as a parade of strangers begins scribbling their own complaints, anxieties and grudges across the same tiles.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of scribble
Verb
  • Following this concern, 55% of parents said their top concern was their child’s ability to complete multistep tasks such as homework while 45% of parents cited fidgeting.
    — Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The current boom is driven by Gen Z’s openness about mental health, social-commerce virality on TikTok and Etsy, and a broader nervous-system regulation movement that treats fidgeting as a legitimate coping tool rather than a bad habit.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of fidget
Verb
  • The show is arranged in eight parts and begins with a large white wall at the entrance with the title of the show scrawled in RM’s handwriting.
    — Christine Terrisse, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Hate speech was also found scrawled on one of the weapons used in the attack, and a suicide note contained writings about racial pride, officials said.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of scrawl
Verb
  • Kingsolver followed Unsheltered with Demon Copperhead, a retelling of David Copperfield about an Appalachian orphan tossed around the foster system after losing his mother to an overdose.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Tarik Skubal tossed six dominant innings in triple-digit heat, Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in Game 1 of their NL Division Series on Saturday.
    — Beth Harris, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of toss
Verb
  • Laura squirmed under her mother’s gaze, willed the light to turn green.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
  • American Horror Story loves nothing more than making viewers squirm.
    — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of squirm
Verb
  • During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerk
Verb
  • Intravenous lines can fail for several reasons, like a needle and catheter not being properly placed in a vein or wiggling out of place — or a vein rupturing and letting blood and IV fluid leak into tissue surrounding the IV site.
    — Rebecca Boone, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Upon closer examination, beats like the ones that Fleming’s team described turned out to reflect not quantum coherence, but a resonance between wiggling molecular bonds.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of wiggle

Browse Nearby Words

squiffed
squiggle
squiggled
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Cite this Entry

“Squiggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squiggle. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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