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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in squirming
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of squirm
James Horncastle, New York Times, 15 May 2025
And all those passengers squirming around makes driving more difficult because of the constantly changing weight balance.
—George Skelton, Mercury News, 2 July 2025
Not only do these votes make individual Republicans squirm, but they can be used for attack ads when a senator is up for reelection.
—Erin Doherty, CNBC, 30 June 2025
Enjoy a vivid, squirming alien world filled to the brim with some of the most monstrous sprites ever rendered on a 2-D machine.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for squirm
Noun
At the beginning of the second half, a tackle in the Milan box caused the ball to squirm loose.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 15 May 2025
And all those passengers squirming around makes driving more difficult because of the constantly changing weight balance.
—George Skelton, Mercury News, 2 July 2025
Not only do these votes make individual Republicans squirm, but they can be used for attack ads when a senator is up for reelection.
—Erin Doherty, CNBC, 30 June 2025
Enjoy a vivid, squirming alien world filled to the brim with some of the most monstrous sprites ever rendered on a 2-D machine.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for squirm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squirm
Verb
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Instead, the players stood behind him patiently — fidgeting now and then, their faces mainly expressionless — as Trump answered questions that mostly related to the potential of U.S. involvement in Israel’s war against Iran.—
Chuck Schilken,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
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Skeptics argue that many of the classic symptoms of the disorder — fidgeting, losing things, not following instructions — are simply typical, if annoying, behaviors of childhood.—
Paul Tough Eric Jason Martin Krish Seenivasan Brian St. Pierre,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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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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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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For running or walking shoes: Do your toes have plenty of space to wiggle?—
Hannah Dylan Pasternak,
SELF,
11 Aug. 2025
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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
Noun
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Now scientists have found that, with a little fiddling, the feathers can be adjusted to turn flashes of light into laser beams.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
5 Aug. 2025
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Life’s hard enough, and if facial fiddling is music to your ears, have at it.—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Jamal Musiala was writhing in agony, but what really hit hard was the way players on both teams were reacting to the Bayern Munich forward’s injury.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
6 July 2025
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That’s Aya’s real mouth on the cover of Hexed!, and those are real worms writhing around inside.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In the elevator of the Associated Press Building at Rockefeller Plaza, Sunny’s brows trembled.—
Kiran Desai,
New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2025
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But then the cheers from his fans would begin, and Hogan would tremble with energy.—
John DeVore,
Rolling Stone,
26 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squirm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squirm. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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