squirmed

verb

past tense of squirm
as in fidgeted
to make jerky or restless movements the toddler squirmed the whole time we were in the waiting room

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 squirmed In the back, tanks bubbled with live lobsters while crawfish squirmed in boxes nearby. — Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026 Laura squirmed under her mother’s gaze, willed the light to turn green. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026 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, 11 May 2026 His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed. — Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 14 Apr. 2026 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 Juana Rodriguez was bound for hours as her 3-year old son cried and squirmed, according to the ACLU lawsuit that was filed on behalf of three Latino families. — Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026 The open section of their session lasted for 15 minutes — and Howe will have squirmed through every second — but there were laughs amid the stretches and shuttle runs. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squirmed
  1. fidgeted
  2. twitched
  3. jerked
  4. tossed
  5. wiggled
  6. fiddled
  7. writhed
  8. twisted
Verb
  • 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
Definition of fidgeted
Verb
  • Just then, Chee Meng’s fishing rod twitched, and the line began to run out.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of twitched
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
  • Somewhere nearby, in a dark office, an eavesdropping oreja has just jerked to attention on his hard little chair.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerked
Verb
  • Yet Abrams still won’t kvetch about being crammed into a tiny whale-stomach set with a camera crew, while a half-dozen crew members surrounding the practical gut, wielding a gimbal, tossed him around like a wet rag doll.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Ohtani turned to the Dodgers’ dugout, spread his arms wide and tossed his bat to the side.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of tossed
Verb
  • As a woman waded through the waters around the Bridge Side Marina in Bridge Isle, Louisiana, the tiny canine with a fluffy white coat wiggled his forelegs as if swimming, video of the cute moment shows.
    — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Imanaga wiggled out of a one-out double in the first, then was supported by Pete Crow-Armstrong’s eighth leadoff home run of the season and the second in as many games.
    — Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of wiggled
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
Definition of fiddled
Verb
  • Legend writhed in pain on the ground as Ruca took a second on her back to gather herself.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • While family members and peers in Yuba City waited for more information, Burris writhed deeper into the bus, and responders in Martinez formulated a plan to rescue the people left inside.
    — Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2026
Definition of writhed
Verb
  • The road was slick after showers and slid out and twisted like a long black tongue.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Because there’s not even a morsel of darkness in Verity’s star persona, neither Lowen nor Jeremy know how twisted the real woman is.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of twisted

Browse Nearby Words

squirm
squirmed
squirming
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Cite this Entry

“Squirmed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squirmed. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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