as in to fidget
to make jerky or restless movements
the toddler squirmed the whole time we were in the waiting room
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as in squirming
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of squirm
Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2026
Distracting from the void at its core are the extremely gory kills, splashed with pixelized blood and guts that are indeed successful in making an audience squirm.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
Even the normally surefire element of a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, with its blasts of dissonance pumping up the squirm factor, adds to the heavy-going effect of a movie that seems to go out of its way to be grating.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squirm
Verb
Carl squirmed away from some of his earlier remarks minimizing the Holocaust but stood by his views on anti-white persecution and the Great Replacement.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2026
Distracting from the void at its core are the extremely gory kills, splashed with pixelized blood and guts that are indeed successful in making an audience squirm.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Noun
Packed with numerous squirm-worthy scenes and strong commentary on impossible beauty standards, this film is best watched when the clock strikes midnight.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
Even the normally surefire element of a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, with its blasts of dissonance pumping up the squirm factor, adds to the heavy-going effect of a movie that seems to go out of its way to be grating.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squirm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squirm
Verb
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Saturday’s game is also being advertised an autism awareness night, offering earplugs, fidget toys and a sensory break area for fans who plan to attend.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Jan. 2026
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Minimal but purposeful movement, avoiding fidgeting or excessive gestures, shows intention.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Jost proceeded to read them — as usual squirming while doing it.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
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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,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
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Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Freida Frisaro,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Griffin Jax tossed a perfect sixth before David Bednar escaped a seventh-inning jam with two on and one out by striking out Tatis and Marte.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
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Residents in houses gathered on rooftops and hung out of windows, with one girl with her leg outside tossing beers down from the second story to her friends on the porch.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Verb
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We are jerked between past and present as his backstory gets filled in, one jogged memory at a time.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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While Toyosu is a bit out of the way, Planets is the larger and more immersive of the two, with engaging exhibits that include a room full of digital koi in knee-deep water, a forest of dangling orchids, and rooms of video game-like physical challenges to jump, balance, or wiggle through.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
13 Mar. 2026
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These proteins, called FG-nucleoporins, have tails that wiggle around like seaweed and that can’t be captured in static images.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squirm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squirm. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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