as in fidgets
to make jerky or restless movements
the toddler squirmed the whole time we were in the waiting room
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Recent Examples of squirms
Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
When Brian and Murtagh report that Dougal offended the Grants and Colum had to promise Ellen’s hand to appease the situation, Lord Lovat squirms.
—Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squirms
Verb
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The man fidgets, shifts around in his seat and fixates on Zarutska before pulling out a small knife and striking her multiple times around her neck.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But don’t let any of that hinder you from seeing director/co-screenwriter Ryan Prows’ nutso horror movie, which also tosses some decidedly less effective social commentary onto the barbie.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
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Some lay them flat, others hang them up, and the last set tosses them into a bin.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The boy jerks his head as if to wake himself, turns around abruptly and looks the other way, even though there’s nothing special to see besides darkness and emptiness, which is where a living eye should never look.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Paul goes to shake her hand but jerks it back, then gives her a left-handed handshake.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But at ultra-high strain rates, dislocations accelerate fast enough to start interacting with the material’s vibrating atoms.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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The recent advance has been buoyed by speculative inflows and lingering supply dislocations across major trading hubs after a short squeeze in October.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Buttermilk the cow is an interactive toy that sings, wiggles its ears, and teaches little ones animal sounds.—
Anja Webb,
Parents,
28 Nov. 2025
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His body wiggles with excitement, signaling his tail is wagging.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Gently scrub the surface in circular motions to lift stains and grime.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
14 Jan. 2026
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The scolding came after Heuermann’s lawyer, Michael Brown, introduced a new stack of motions further challenging evidence in the infamous murder case on Monday evening, the Post reported.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The congregation writhes, sometimes in unison, and whirls and stomps; at one point, a line of folks snake through a doorway and into the foreground, as the camera rotates in the opposite direction.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
26 Dec. 2025
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So says the priest (Ben Hall) to Sister Agnes (Hayley McFarland), who writhes in a dark room, foaming at the mouth before a gathering of fellow Carmelite nuns.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squirms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squirms. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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